Romitri Forever
by NB313
Summary: *UPDATE* - Changing this piece to a series of one-shot stories, set after Last Sacrifice. My own take on what happens to Rose and Dimitri after LS/Bloodlines. Even though these are 'one-shots' the events are connected and happen in the sequence they are written. Enjoy!
1. Returning to the Academy

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.**

 **Please let me know what you think of these**

 _Rose gets the chance to return to the Academy on a special mission. What she doesn't know is its going to be a trip that will change her life forever...  
_

**RETURNING TO THE ACADEMY**

 **RPOV**

I never thought I would be back here again.

Never thought I would see the mountains or the vast pine forests of Montana.

Never thought I would see the place I grew up – the only place I had ever called home.

 _No, that's not true, not any more,_ I thought smiling, thinking back to the Royal Moroi Court which I now called home. But still, it felt surreal returning to St Vladimir's Academy.

Sonya shivered next to me, pulling her parka close to herself, "Strange isn't it? Coming back here after everything that has happened".

I turned and smiled at her, trying to comfort her anxiety. The last time she had been here, she had tried to rid the darkness that was ever present with her Spirit powers and had purposefully turned herself Strigoi.

I grabbed her gloved hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze "Just focus on the reason we are here. Lissa has complete faith in you and knows you can handle this".

Sonya gave me a small smile, but I could still see the worry and stress. Without any further hesitation we both made our way to Kirova's office. The walk to the office made me think back to the countless times I had done this exact walk and the small smile on my face became an outright grin. I was a regular visitor to Kirova's office, ever since elementary school (when I threw a book at our kindergarten teacher for making me and Lissa spell out our names in full). It felt strange, coming to her now as an official guardian, on official Moroi business.

The door to Kirova's office was open, but I still politely knocked and waited for her to invite us in. Kirova looked up, and her expression became one of surprise when she saw who had knocked at her door. "Why Guardian Hathaway, I thought I would never see the day you would politely knock at my door, waiting for me to invite you in".

My grin grew wider, "Headmistress Kirova, I am no longer the 'undisciplined' girl you used to know and I try not to be too 'disrespectful' when I can. Unfortunately, I am still learning to tame my 'wild' side".

It was my turn to be surprised, when I saw a warm smile spread on Kirova's face. In all my time at the Academy I don't think I had ever seen her smile like that to anyone. Her expression changed to one of shock when Sonya followed me into her office. This wasn't a surprise visit, she knew we were coming, but she hadn't seen Sonya since her transformation (she hadn't been able to make the wedding) so this was the first time she was seeing her after her restoration.

"Sonya?"

I was startled to see the small tears forming in her eyes. Sonya replied her with a warm smile, and took the remaining steps quickly and before I knew it, both woman were hugging each other tightly. I looked away, trying to regain my own emotions and allowing them some privacy.

"Ellen, I am so sorry for everything. So sorry for what I put you through". I could hear the grief and guilt in Sonya's voice, as Kirova gently patted her back in an effort to soothe her. "It's all in the past now, dear. I am just happy to see you again".

I cleared my throat, reminding them I was in the room as well.

"Sorry Rose" Sonya smiled at me sheepishly as she moved back to where I stood. It gave Kirova the time she needed to pull up her professional, Headmistress mask into place. "Why don't you both sit down, so we can discuss the matter at hand".

Our visit to the Academy wasn't a social one. Word had gotten to Lissa that there was a student (who had transferred from another academy) that was displaying the same 'undeclared' signs she had, which could mean a potential Spirit user. Lissa had become excited and wanted to come herself to interview the student, but her royal obligations kept her at Court. So she sent Sonya instead to determine the truth. Being Lissa's guardian, I would have preferred to have stayed at Court (since now that I no longer had the Spirit bond to keep track of her well-being, it was very hard being away from her), but Lissa insisted I went with Sonya on this mission. "You know more about Spirit than any other guardian and I would feel better knowing you were there not only protecting Sonya, but also helping her with this mission. I also know you miss the Academy, so this way you get to see it again". I couldn't argue with that, and so here we were.

To be honest, I had another reason that motivated me to visit the Academy. Dimitri and Christian had been at St. Vlads for the last month, putting in place the new elective that was to being rolled out for Moroi seniors when the new school year started – Combat and Magical Defence. The Council had finally consented to an Academy to trial out the new elective, allowing senior Moroi students to learn basic hand-to-hand combat and ways they could use their specialised element as a weapon against the Strigoi. Depending on how popular (and successful) the elective went at St Vladimir's would determine whether it would get adopted by the other Academies. I was excited about this and really wanted to see how Dimitri and Christian were progressing. And secretly, I was missing Dimitri like crazy. Talking once a day (to catch up and wish each other goodnight) was never enough. I missed his smile, his warmth and most of all, I missed his deep, brown eyes.

Our meeting with Kirova took a little over an hour, as we caught up on our personal lives after the matter of the 'undeclared' student was discussed. In that time, more snow had fallen and the Academy looked even more beautiful than it had when we had arrived. It was bustling with life, as students made their way around the campus. Sonya and I started making our way to guest housing, when I stopped suddenly.

"What's the matter Rose?"

I looked wistfully towards the guardian administration building, biting my lower lip.

"Is it ok if I meet up with you later? I want to go see Alberta. I haven't seen her in ages".

Sonya smiled and nodded. Taking a deep breath, I made my way to Alberta's office. I wasn't sure if she would be there (after all I hadn't checked and the visit was last minute), but luck was on my side. Alberta had left her door open too and was busy filling out paperwork. I knocked on her door to divert her attention. Her head snapped up and a look of disbelief filled her face. Before I knew how to respond she was in front of me in a flash and had gathered me in a big hug. I struggled to breath in her tight embrace but more importantly, I was overwhelmed by her display of emotion. Trying to hold back the tears I attempted to diffuse my emotion with humour.

"Why Guardian Petrov, I didn't think you would be _this_ happy to see one of your most disruptive, mischievous student?"

"Call me Alberta, Rose. You are no longer my student, but my peer", she whispered.

I pulled away from her and saw a grin on her face.

"I knew you were coming today with Sonya, but didn't think I would get a chance to see you till tomorrow".

Something strange flashed in her eyes, but before I could catch it, her guardian mask fell into place. But she still kept a small smile on her face as she gestured towards the chair near her desk.

"Please take a seat. Have you had a chance to see Belikov yet?" Her smile twitched at Dimitri's name, but again she kept her face stoic.

My eyes narrowed slightly at that little twitch. "No, we met up with Kirova the moment we got here. We needed to be debriefed about Lana Tarus".

Alberta nodded. "Ah, yes. The 'undeclared' Moroi transfer from St Basil's Academy. It made sense for them to transfer her to us, considering our experience on the matter. Speaking of Spirit, how is her Highness?"

"Lissa is great. I don't know how she does it, but she can somehow manage the Court and still get her assignments in on time. Not only that, but she has been toping every single one of her classes. I don't think I would have been able to manage everything like she has". I felt a surge of pride thinking how Lissa had found a way to be an exemplary Queen to her people and still follow her dreams. At the rate she was going, I didn't think she would be happy with just the one degree.

I lost track of time, as Alberta and I caught up on each other's lives and how things were faring at the Academy and at Court. I think our conversation would have continued further if it wasn't for a text that Alberta received. I could see her falling back to her blank face as she read the text but some other emotion was trying to get through. Her fingers flew across the phone has she replied back. Taking a deep breath, she looked back up at me.

"Rose, could I possibly ask you to do a little favour?"

I watched her carefully, wondering what she wanted to ask (and what she was trying to not say), "Sure, what would you like me to do?"

"All of the school guardians are currently busy on other matters, but it's come to my attention that a bunch of students are planning to skip class and have a bonfire party near the old guardian post – you know the cabin at the East end of campus. Could you please go there and check it out. And should you come across any students, well you know what to do".

I gave her a quick nod and left before the secret smile appeared on my face.

The cabin, _our cabin_.

Last time I had seen it was on my last day at the Academy before I had left for the Court to become a guardian. It felt like another lifetime. I chuckled at the thought of the reversal of roles I would now have to play – the biggest rule breaker, party girl this Academy had ever seen was now in charge of enforcing those very same rules and stopping students from having fun.

Being responsible and respected sucked sometimes.

My guardian eyes took in my surroundings as I made my way further into the woods, moving swiftly and silently to keep my presence hidden. The entire walk up to the cabin I hadn't seen any student activity – in fact the woods were silent apart from the small critters of the night. My boots crunched on the thick snow and I was glad my half-vampire vision, along with the moonlight, allowed me to see without the need of a flashlight. But as the cabin came to view, my breath caught in my throat.

Tiny fairy lights ran around the trim of the building, illuminating it in a beautiful glow. Small, white lanterns were laid out in the front of the door, making an aisle that invited me to enter a magical world. Slowly I walked towards the cabin, in a trance, wondering what was waiting from me on the other side. This was definitely not a student party I was walking towards. I felt butterflies in my stomach as I opened the door. A gasp escaped my lips as I took in the sight in front of me. Long and short white candles, emitting a soft smell of Jasmine, were spread out in the cabin - just the right amount to give a romantic atmosphere. Large vases, filled with deep, red roses were strategically placed around the cabin (taking up whatever room was left from the candles). And bent down on one knee, waiting for me, was the love of my life, my equal, my soulmate.

"Rosemarie Hathaway. Three years ago you blew into my life like a wild, raging storm. Pure, untouched power. I don't know how you did it, but you broke down every wall, every barrier I had ever erected in my life. No one has ever understood me as well as you have – you and you alone see what's in my heart and soul. It's doesn't surprise me because as far as I am concerned, you have them both. You have seen me at my lowest, at my worst and yet you still loved me. You have brought me back from death and despair. I owe you my life and so much more. If you allow me, I would like to spend the rest of my life, completely and utterly devoted to you. You are my goddess, my angel, my love. Oh Roza, my dearest Roza, will you marry me?"

I stood there stunned, not knowing how to respond. Tears ran down my face as my mind quickly recalled the last three years – the first time I saw him in Portland, him pinning me down after my surprise attack during training, the night of the lust charm, when he saved me from Natalie, our first passionate kiss, when he confessed he loved me, my first time in this very cabin… On and on the memories raced across my mind. So many memories – the good and the bad. One thing was constant – he was in every single one of them, he was my centre. I couldn't imagine my life without him and I didn't think I could love anyone as deeply as I loved him. To him it probably felt like forever before I answered his question, but the reality was my mind had showed me my decision through those memories in less than a minute.

"Yes" I whispered.

With the amazing guardian reflexes I knew and loved, he jumped up and grabbed me in a tight embrace.

"Oh Roza, my sweet Roza. You have made me the happiest man in the world!"

Tears glistened in his beautiful dark, brown eyes, as he pulled back to gaze at my face. He smothered me with countless kisses, making me giggle.

"Hey comrade, this is all good and everything, but where is my ring?"

He took a step back, giving me one of his dazzling smiles and took out a small black box. Inside was a ring that was truly Rose-worthy – a perfectly cut round diamond was set into a lacy square of platinum filigree that was edged in tiny blue opals. I felt more tears spring to my eyes as he carefully pulled the ring out of the box, and taking my left hand gently in his warm ones, he removed the glove and placed the ring delicately on my ring finger – amazingly it fit perfectly.

"Oh Dimitri, it's beautiful".

Before either of us could say anything more, I grabbed him fiercely and kissed him. I had never planned on getting engaged this young, but then again I had seen and experienced more in the last three years of my life than many had in a lifetime. Death, life, re-birth, imprisonment, new beginnings, what did it matter if I got engaged at the tender age of 20? Heck, if he asked me to, I would march down to a courthouse and marry him tomorrow (thought I may not openly admit this to him). This wonderful man, this amazing soul was mine, all mine.

Our kiss started to get more heated and I wanted to do so much more. I didn't want to waste the cabin and the romantic atmosphere, but Dimitri, it seemed had other ideas.

"No Roza, I have another surprise for you".

He released me gently, pushing away, just as breathless as I was. I couldn't help but pout at him. He gave a small chuckle as he took hold of my left hand and lead me out of the cabin, back towards the Academy.

I kept asking him to give me a hint, anything, on what his next surprise was. Frankly I couldn't see how he could possibly top what he had pulled off tonight. I soon realised he was leading me towards one of the rooms the Academy sometimes used for private functions. In fact, I recognised the room.

"This is where Abe held my graduation party. What's going on?"

The only answer I got from Dimitri was a small grin and a wink before he pushed open the doors.

"SURPRISE!"

I'd like to think it's very hard to take me by surprise, after all I am a deadly, well trained guardian. So you can imagine my embarrassment when I yelped very loud at the sudden outburst and the scene that was before me. Kirova, Alberta, Christian, Sonya, even my parents, were all here.

"Oh my God! What is going on? What are you two doing here!?"

I looked pointedly at my parents, who were grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. My mum spoke up, "Really Rose, you have to ask? This is your engagement party!"

I looked at them dumbfounded, and stared at the others.

"But how did you know? It just happened like five minutes ago!"

Dimitri pulled me into a hug, laughing into my hair "Oh Roza".

"Honestly Rose, did you really think Dimitri did all of this by himself?" Christian's eyes sparkled as he spoke. "We were all recruited to help make Operation Get-Rose-to-marry-Dimitri a success. Why else do you think Dimitri and I were at the Academy?"

I looked at him and Dimitri, confused.

"What about the new elective? Was that just an elaborate lie to help this proposal happen?"

It was Alberta, with a quick laugh that answered my question.

"No Rose, that wasn't a lie. We really are implementing a new defence elective for senior Moroi students next year and Dimitri and Christian have worked very hard to make this a reality. They just worked on the proposal in their downtime".

I spun around to face Sonya accusingly.

"You knew! All this time you knew! Was Lana Tarus a set-up?"

Sonya came over and gave me a big hug.

"No Rose, she too is real. But, we may have jumped the gun on thinking she was a Spirit user – turns out she declared in Earth magic yesterday. But we had the perfect excuse to get you to the Academy, so we kept up the façade".

I bit my lip, looking at one face at a time. Each one was filled with happiness, excitement or love for us. I stopped at my parents again.

"I still don't understand what role you two played?"

My mum spoke again, much to Abe's annoyance.

"I am here, because Dimitri wanted to ask your hand in marriage. It was a very noble thing of him to do. Of course, I was a bit annoyed to find out he had already asked your father for permission ages ago".

A look of utter shock came over my face as I stared back and forth between Dimitri and Abe. I settled on Abe.

"When did this happen, old man!?"

Abe, gave me one of his sly grins.

"Actually, my dear daughter it happened during our one and only exciting hunting trip. We discussed so much, that I guess this was just something that naturally came up. How could I possibly say no?"

His eyes twinkled in mischief. I turned my glare at Dimitri.

"You have been planning this for over a year!"

It was supposed to intimidate him, make him cower. Instead he and the others burst out into fits of laughter. And that was that. Everyone came and gave us hugs and best wishes. Abe, annoyingly even started to offer his fatherly services of paying for the whole wedding.

"Dad! We just got engaged. We haven't set a date yet, let alone thought about where, when, how we are going to get married!"

Suddenly a frown appeared on my face and Dimitri sensed my shoulders tense.

"What's the matter Roza?"

I looked at him and Christian, chewing my lip nervously.

"What about Lissa? It feels wrong to be celebrating this and all of you guys being here when she isn't".

Dimitri gave Christian a knowing look, prompting him to quickly disappear to the corner of the room where a laptop sat. As I saw him bringing it over, I noticed a web-cam had been strategically placed near the laptop that had been facing us the entire time. Typing in a few things, Christian quickly spun the screen around and I was suddenly face to face with my best friend.

"Eeeeeek!" Lissa squealed (made worse thanks to the computer mic). "I watched the whole thing! Congratulations you two! I am so happy for you."

I didn't think it was possible but Rose Hathaway was lost for words. My mind was stupidly sluggish at the moment and it took me some time to realise the implications of it all.

"You were the mastermind behind all this, weren't you!?"

Lissa's smirk was all the answer I needed. Of course, it made perfect sense. Dimitri, Christian, Sonya and me being at the Academy, it was all her doing and I wouldn't be surprised if she had some hand in my parents being here too.

"How on Earth where you guys able to keep this from me?"

I felt a pout forming, finding it hard to believe all of this was going on and I didn't pick up on anything, even with my keen guardian skills.

Lissa chastised me, "Oh Rose, don't be like that. Dimitri worked hard on making this possible. Don't ruin this for him".

It was true. A lot of effort had gone into making this night possible, and even though there were a lot of helpers, it was all Dimitri. I pulled him into my arms, suddenly shy at the audience we had. Everyone cheered and we continued with our festivities. It wasn't long before people started dispersing.

Kirova and Alberta were the first to leave, apologising that they had other Academy matters to attend to. Sonya left next, saying she was scheduled to have a Skype call with Mikhail (who was currently on a mission in Europe). Christian said his goodbyes too, along with Lissa, as he took the web-cam and laptop with him to have some private one-on-one time with the Queen. That just left the four of us. Before things could get awkward, mum gave Abe a gentle nudge and whispered something in his ear. A wicked grin spread on his face as he turned to speak to us.

"Well it seems your mother would like some private time with your father, and as our time together will be short, I do not wish to waste it. So we will leave you two kids to amuse yourself. I am sure you will find a way to pass the time".

And with that, before I could make any comment, he took my mother's arm, gave Dimitri a knowing wink and led her out of the room. I just stared at them, my mouth gaping open. What had stunned me even more, was my mum's blush as she allowed Abe to lead her out of the room.

"Where do you think they are going? What do you think they are going to do?"

Dimitri's response was one of his cool, patented one eyebrow raises.

"Do you really want me to answer that Roza?"

Nope. I didn't.

We made our way back to the cabin – even though we had a room at the guest housing (I had planned on staying in the same room as Dimitri). We walked in comfortable silence, Dimitri occasionally kissing my left hand in a constant reminder of what had transpired tonight.

"Who else knows? Jill? Eddie? Sydney & Adrian?"

Dimitri shook his head. "Only the people who were here tonight at the small engagement party. Lissa really wanted to be here in person, but she had the big Council meeting and too many important items were on the agenda for her to miss it or reschedule. Jill is still at Eddie's, and everyone who knows has been told to keep it to themselves. I know you would prefer the rest to find out from us directly than through the others about the engagement and I guess the perfect time would be at the Christmas dinner, when we will see them at Sydney and Adrian's".

I nodded in agreement as the cabin came into view and all I could think about was Dimitri and the heat that was burning inside me.

The cabin had remained frozen in time for us. It was still dark out and not all of the candles had burned out. Even with the reduced lighting, it was still breathtaking. Dimitri led me in and closed the door behind us. We helped each other out of our coats and gloves, allowing our fingers to linger on the other's arms. Reaching up slowly, tracing his fingers along my left arm, Dimitri brushed the side of my face. I shivered at his touch, feeling dizzy with a surge of pleasure at what was to come. The lovable fool thought my shiver was a sign of me feeling cold and pulled away to light a fire. Sighing, I went and sat down on the bed, allowing my memories of the last time we were in the cabin to flood me. I was so lost in them that when Dimitri returned and took me in his arms, I thought I was still wrapped up in my memories. It was his sweet voice that bought me back to reality, to the present.

"Oh Roza, you are truly one of a kind. So brave, so beautiful. How did I get so lucky?"

I turned to look at him, watching myself fall deeply into his dreamy eyes, "I don't know comrade, but let's just see how lucky you really are tonight?"

I gave him the biggest, seductive smile I could muster. His expression went from quick shock to one filled with deep hunger, as he pinned me down with a growl. We kissed deeply, as our hands worked fast on removing the vast layers of clothing we were wrapped up in – damn the cold weather! But it wasn't long before we were completely bare, our warm skins touching each other. The only thing I had on was my engagement ring and that was were Dimitri started his exploration of my body from – kissing each of my fingers, the ring, palm, he moved slowly along the wrist, arm, shoulder, neck… Each kiss set my skin aflame and the fluttering in my stomach increased.

"Stop taunting me…" I gasped.

I gripped his shoulders, wanting him to get on with it, to take me, my body, my soul. But he wasn't listening.

"Let me worship you, Roza. Let me savour every part of you. I can never have enough of you. You drive me crazy with your beauty – your dark hair ( _he kissed the top of my head, inhaling deeply_ ), your piercing eyes ( _he kissed them both gently_ ), your warm lips ( _he kissed me intensely, biting my lower lip gently_ ), your amazing body…"

With that final declaration, his kisses exploded all over my body, making me moan in pleasure and growl with impatience. I wanted him inside me and I was not one who liked to be kept waiting.

Taking a page out of one of our many training sessions, I used his weight to flip him over and take control.

"Enough with the foreplay, comrade. It's my turn!" I growled.

And before he could protest, I smothered him with a deep kiss, and took charge of the night.


	2. Bachelor Party

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.**

 _With only a week to go till their big day, Rose and Dimitri get roped into having their Bachelor parties. Alcohol and wild antics – what could possibly go wrong?  
_

**THE BACHELOR PARTY**

 **RPOV**

"I'm going to kill him!"

 _No, wait. That's too easy and too quick_.

"No, I change my mind. I am going to torture him, draw out his suffering, and when he is begging for me to end it, that's when I will kill him!"

My hands were shaking with rage, making it difficult for the poor manicurist to apply the nail polish on my hands. My bridal party shifted uncomfortably, trying to avoid my glare – well all except the one person who had told me the disturbing news that had caused me to go from a carefree, happy bride-to-be into a raging, jealous bridezilla.

Sydney didn't flinch away from my glare, instead she sighed in frustration.

"Do you think I am happy about this, Rose? I mean, I guess I can't blame him. After all, he didn't get a Bachelor party… so I guess it's understandable that he is using Dimitri's Bachelor party as an excuse to have one he never got".

My jaw tightened in response. I just couldn't believe Adrian, a married man, had the audacity to do exactly what I had not wanted Dimitri to do at his Bachelor party.

This was the weekend before our wedding. I still couldn't believe that in a week's time I would become Mrs. Dimitri Belikov (though I had already told Dimitri that I would still keep my maiden name for some official things – like my guardian title). Neither one of us wanted to have Bachelor parties – it wasn't our thing – but our respective bridal parties insisted on it and the next thing we know we were spending the weekend away from each other.

My girls had planned a relaxing, demure Bachelor party. A weekend of pampering, makeovers, sleepover, lots of food and drink. I had wanted Lissa to be my maid of honour but being the Queen made this difficult, so after discussing it with her I gave that honour to Jill. But to appease Lissa and still make her feel part of the big day I gave her complete control of planning the wedding (and the impromptu Bachelor weekend). I had asked Viktoria, Sydney, Mia and Sonya to be my bridesmaids. So while we were still at Court, starting our weekend celebrations with some pampering, the boys had jet off to Las Vegas.

This was Adrian's doing. I couldn't imagine Dimitri wanting to go off to party in Las Vegas (especially considering what had happened last time we were there when he was a Strigoi). But Adrian was persistent and so the boys had head off last night to start their Bachelor weekend. Even though Dimitri didn't know what was in store for him, he assured me that it would just be a weekend of gambling, paintball and relaxing by the pool. No strippers and no drunken shenanigans. He clearly didn't know Adrian.

We started getting updates on what the boys were up to by one of the groomsmen – Mikhail. He, along with another Court guardian named Ryan (who was dating Mia), were the 'designated' guardians for the weekend, providing protection for Adrian and Christian (Dimitri's other groomsmen). I think Sonya was very happy with this, because it had meant that Mikhail would remain sober the entire time he was there (and so hopefully not partake in any crazy antics). This would allow Dimitri, Eddie (his best man) and Neil (who had reluctantly come back to Court for the wedding) relax and get into the festivities.

They had started off their day with paintball and had lounged around the pool after lunch (Mikhail kept us in the loop via texts and covert photos). After an early dinner the boys (who were staying at the Witching Hour) had headed to the casino, Adrian especially keen to test his skills now that he wasn't actively using Spirit. The drinking hadn't been too bad during the day, with a champagne or beer here and there, but as the night progressed, the groom and groomsmen started to get into it. They had all dressed up (going for a James Bond like attire) sitting there at the Blackjack table, drinking martinis - they looked hilarious.

But then someone (probably Adrian) had ordered shots and the next thing I know we were getting photos of the boys without their jackets, ties undone, laughing and looking rowdy as they took in a show at the theatre, watching scantily dressed Moroi dancers waving feathers on the stage. But this was not what had driven me to my current wrath.

Not satisfied ogling the Moroi dancers, the boys had ventured out to another club, one which had human dancers, dressed in even less clothes gyrating and dancing seductively around the stage and in cages. More shots, and it looked like the boys were really getting into it. At one point it looked like Christian almost came to blows with another patron at the club (but I think either Mikhail or Ryan put a stop to it before anything happened, though Mikhail was still able to take a photo of the event). My rage had been growing as photo after photo came in, showing Dimitri laughing and enjoying the show. I was mad at Dimitri, but I was furious at Adrian – this was all his doing. Corrupting my sweet Dimitri and turning him into a drunk, wild groom-to-be.

A loud buzz shattered the uncomfortable silence in the room. All eyes turned towards Mia, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking at her phone and sneaking glances at me.

"What is it now?! What are the idiots up to!?"

"Hmm, maybe we should just leave them be. You know what they say, _'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…'_ "

Mia tried to hide her discomfort with humour, but I was not having any of it. Giving her one of my scariest death stares I motioned her to hand over her phone. She looked at the other girls for support, but they all looked away, too afraid to face my wrath. With a small sigh she passed the phone over to me.

Gritting my teeth I braced myself for the worst.

This time, it wasn't a text or a photo, but an actual video Ryan had tapped. So far the updates had come via Mikhail so I was surprised that Ryan had sent something. But what he had sent made everything else seem like child's play.

The photos had given us a snap-shot of certain moments frozen in time, but the video really painted the true picture of what was happening – it felt like I was right there, watching it firsthand.

Loud music was thumbing in the background, punctuated with rowdy shouts and wolf whistles. The boys sat around one of the side stages in a semi-circle – it seemed like their own personal stage – with countless empty shot glasses surrounding them. Two girls dressed in skimpy, barely-leaving-to-the-imagination outfits, were dancing seductively on the stage. Their focus, the groom. It was no surprise seeing the lust and hunger in their eyes as they eyed Dimitri – most women found him sexy and irresistible. Eddie and Christian, sitting on one side of Dimitri, were whooping loud and cheering the girls on, while Neil and Adrian, flanking his other side, were laughing hard. Adrian's voice could be heard clearly over the noise.

"Come on Belikov! Get on the stage and dance with these fine ladies. I arranged this treat just for you, so you better not waste it!"

I didn't think it was possible, but my anger intensified to pure rage as I saw Dimitri, grinning sheepishly, jump onto the stage. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, as the girls quickly surrounded him and started using him like their personal pole. The song changed (and somehow got louder) to _Baby Boy_ by Beyonce, causing the girls to take their seductive dance to a whole other level.

"Come on, Dimitri! Get into it! Stop standing around like a shy, teenage boy. Show us some killer moves!" Christian shouted.

Keeping his stupid grin, Dimitri started swaying with the girls. He still didn't dance per say, but he did encourage and allowed the girls to rub and caress him. My vision turned red and I almost crushed Mia's phone in my hand.

Lissa cleared her throat, trying to get my attention. "Maybe we should get another round of drinks. What would you like Rose?"

It took all my will-power to look away from the phone and face Lissa.

"I want something strong. I don't care if it's early and if this ruins your plans Liss, but I need to forget what I saw. Otherwise I will do something I may regret…"

Lissa didn't even hesitate and gestured at one of the serving girls to get us a round of shots.

I was no longer angry at Adrian. Oh no, Dimitri was my new target and boy, was he going to pay dearly when he got home.

 **DPOV**

I hadn't drunk this much alcohol since my days at St Basils. The last time I had been this drunk was at our graduation party and only because Ivan had kept supplying me with vodka throughout the night. My head was pounding and I just wanted to curl up somewhere dark and quiet.

Someone stirred next to me, making me freeze in apprehension.

 _Who was sleeping next to me in my bed?_

Slowly I turned, and came face to face with Eddie. The movement made Eddie wake up and we stared at each other, completely stunned.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed!?" I practically shouted, only to wince in pain at the noise.

Eddie also winced at the loudness of my voice but scrambled out of the bed.

"Sorry, sorry… I can't remember much from last night, but I must have fallen asleep here by accident. Sorry, sorry…"

Next to me, on my other side, a loud groan came from somewhere on the floor.

"Will you two shut up! I feel like my head is about to explode!" Christian hissed. His face poked out from under the discarded clothes he had somehow managed to fall asleep under.

I sat up, very slowly, and took in my surroundings. We were back in the penthouse suite at the Witching Hour hotel. I was given one of the bigger rooms in the suite, while the others were to share the three remaining bedrooms amongst them. But it seemed Eddie and Christian had kept me company after last night's events.

"Oh my God! What the hell did we do last night!?" I gasped.

All I could remember was going to the casino downstairs and playing some blackjack. I vaguely remember taking in a show at the theatre (which was only to shut Adrian up, who kept pouting and annoying me to 'get into the Bachelor party spirit'). After that, everything was a blank. I couldn't even remember how I ended up back in my bed.

A soft knock at the door brought me back to the present. Mikhail stood there, with a small grin and take-out coffee.

"Figured you boys would need something strong to knock you back to your senses".

Carefully getting out of bed (and thankful I was wearing sweatpants) I made my way to Mikhail to grab my coffee. Eddie and Christian did the same and the four of us headed back to the living room. I noticed Ryan, standing guard near the main door, a smirk on his face.

"The Three Amigos are finally awake. Had a nice sleep, did we gentlemen?"

We grumbled in response, still not fully awake or feeling well to hold a conversation. The living room looked like a disaster zone. Empty bottles and glasses everywhere, pizza boxes and other food containers spread throughout. And for some strange reason, goose feathers blanketed the entire room, making me wonder if we had gotten into some kind of pillow fight.

"What's going on? Why are you talking so loudly?" a muffled voice came from the lounge. Next minute Adrian peeked over and stared at us. "I need coffee…" was all that he could add before falling back face-down.

Footsteps shuffled over to us from the main bathroom and I saw Neil guiding himself towards us, occasionally touching the walls for support. He looked like he had thrown up everything he had eaten last night.

"That's the last time I drink any kind of alcohol. Not even going to have a glass of wine or beer ever again!"

Mikhail helped him reach the living room and handed him his coffee, and then turned to Adrian to place the coffee into his out-stretched hand.

We all sat in silence for a bit, savouring the coffee and donuts (which Mikhail had also bought). I think we were all trying to remember last night while managing our hangovers.

I finally broke the silence, "What happened last night?"

I got blank stares from Eddie, Neil, Christian and Adrian, which was not a surprise. But I noticed Ryan and Mikhail share a secret look, before Mikhail turned back to me. He walked over and gave me his phone.

The other boys quickly crowded around me, as I flicked through the photos. Everything looked fine until we reached the photos at the theatre. I could feel my heart beating fast as I watched photo after photo, showing us going from this hotel to a club of sorts. Drinking shots, watching scantily dressed dancers, making fools of ourselves. The guy in the photos looked like me but was not behaving like me.

 _How much alcohol had I consumed last night?_

I sensed Ryan shift uncomfortably in his stance. My eyes flicked towards him and I stared him down hard. "Is there more?"

He looked like he was debating something internally, but with a final sigh, came over and gave me his phone. I watched in horror as the video played out before me. I could hear Christian snicker and Eddie gasp in shock.

I felt numb. I could not believe I had behaved in such a manner last night. Guilt and shame racked my body. I was very grateful Rose was not here to witness this.

Adrian gave me a sympathetic pat and whispered, "Don't be so down, Belikov. You know what they say, _'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…'_ I am sure none of the boys here will spill the beans on what you got up to last night".

I looked at each of them, and saw their silent promise, allowing me a small sigh of relief. But then, I saw the expressions on Mikhail and Ryan's faces. They looked very guilty.

The others noticed me glaring at them and matched my stare – something was very off.

"What did you do?" I gritted out, dreading their response.

Mikhail cleared his throat and avoided my eyes. "Well…"

After he finished telling me how he had been updating Sonya throughout the day and that Ryan had sent the video to Mia, I felt sick in my stomach. Christian patted my back and whispered, "You're a dead man, Dimitri. Dead man".

No doubt about it – Rose was going to kill me.

 **RPOV**

The original plan was to meet the boys at the airstrip. But I was still furious, so I let the others be the welcoming committee. In fact, the other girls weren't too impressed with the boy's behaviour and so in the end it was only Mia and Sonya who were going to meet up with the boys.

I hadn't meant to, but the rest of my Bachelor weekend had been spent drinking and bitching. After we had finished with the manicures and pedicures (and had partaken in our first round of shots), we had all headed back to Lissa's royal quarters. Surrounded by a large amount of junk food and endless supply of alcohol we had spent the rest of the time complaining about the boys and sharing intimate details about our sex life.

We had woken up with really bad hangovers, but it hadn't taken long (after some food and painkillers) for us to start feeling better. Guess strong emotions like anger are really good at curing hangovers.

I had thanked Lissa for her efforts and saying my goodbyes, headed back to our home. The Royal guards had apartments close to the royal housing, so we could be close incase we were needed at a moment's notice. It was the middle of the Moroi day as I dragged myself up the stairs to our two bedroom apartment. My mind was whirling with various ideas on how I was going to punish Dimitri. I had wanted him to have fun, but not that kind of fun. My jaw clenched tightly thinking back to the video. Yes, Dimitri needed to be punished and I knew just what I was going to do.

 **DPOV**

I dreaded going home.

It was one thing finding out about the events from last night, but a whole other thing being told that Rose was aware of _everything_ that had happened in Vegas.

Shifting the suitcase from one hand to another, I unlocked the door to our apartment. It was eerily quiet and dark, like no one was at home. Mia and Sonya had said Rose had returned home, but it didn't look like anyone was here. I felt anxious, wondering where Rose was.

"Rose? Roza?"

No answer, just endless silence.

Leaving the bags near the entrance, I closed the door and headed further in. I turned the lights on as I made my way through the apartment, looking for Rose, growing more and more worried when I couldn't find her. I finally reached our bedroom and with a deep breath opened the door. "Rose?"

My reply was more silence. I tried to turn the lights on in the room but they didn't seem to be working. Suddenly the floor lamp near the arm chair turned on, making me jump in surprise. Sitting there in all her furious glory was my Roza.

I stared at her, watching her blazing gaze take me in. Her expression was hard and she looked like she was going to kill me. I opened my mouth, about to say something, when I noticed what she was wearing. It looked like one of my dusters, except in her size and she had it buttoned up, with only her bare legs visible in killer heels. She had them crossed seductively, exposing just a little bit of her inner thigh. I couldn't help but lick my lips, as I took in the rest of her appearance. Her dark hair cascaded around her face and shoulders, her eyes dark and dangerous, her lips blood red and luscious – she was a true femme fatale.

She pulled herself up gracefully and sashayed towards me, not once breaking eye contact. I couldn't help but gulp as she came to stand before me.

"You have been a very bad boy, comrade. And now, I am going to have to punish you" she whispered, as her expression changed from one of anger to a more seductive one. She pulled a small remote out of her pocket and pointed towards the stereo. Suddenly the song that had played at the club last night, when the video was taken, came on. Before I could comprehend what was going on, she pushed me hard against the wall and with a quick spin pressed her back into me. Pinning my arms to my side (so I couldn't touch her), she started rubbing herself against me, moving with the music. She swayed gently back and forth, making sure her perfect ass was brushing against me, making me hard. With a flick of her hair, she exposed her soft neck, inviting me to lean in for a kiss.

My lips barely brushed the curve of her neck, when she pulled away, looking at me teasingly.

"Now, now. This is not how it works comrade".

A growl escaped my lips and I struggled to get my arms free. Damn it, she was driving me wild and I wanted her so badly.

Smiling and enjoying my pain, she turned around and bought my hands together in front of me. Leaning in, as if to kiss me, she distracted me long enough to pull out handcuffs from her coat and latch them on. I looked down in utter surprise when I heard the metallic click and watched her pull away in satisfaction.

"Sit", she commanded, pointing towards the arm chair.

I hesitated, deliberating how I could get out my predicament. With a resigned sigh, I obeyed her and sat down.

The seductive smile returned as she started dancing in front of me, swaying and dipping in time to the music. Her eyes held my gaze, the hunger and heat I felt mirrored back in hers. She bit her lower lip and it took every ounce of my self-control to not throw myself at her and push her onto the bed. Her hands went to her hair and she combed and stroked her strands, the way I would have. They did all the things my hands were itching to do to her body – caressing her face, stroking her lips, massaging her neck, embracing her arms, rubbing her breasts, brushing down her stomach and sweeping over her inner thighs. I thought I was going to explode, I couldn't take it anymore.

I think she noticed me shift, getting ready to pounce on her and so made her move before I could. In a blink of an eye she was on my lap, straddling me, pushing me back with her strong arms. If her dance from afar was torture, this was pure agony. Leaning into me, her lips lightly brushed my jawline, making their way to my ears.

"I didn't realise how tight this duster would be… you know I am not wearing anything under this".

I groaned in frustration, trying to not let her win this game, but it was so damn hard. I was so damn hard. She had the audacity to laugh at my pain.

"Roza, this is just plain mean. Do you have any idea what kind of torture you are putting me through?" I growled, closing my eyes.

"I am just getting started, comrade".

She moved one of her hands into my hair, pulling my head back so I would look at her again. With the other hand, she moved my cuffed hands so they were under her duster, resting against her supple, soft thighs and just inches away from her warm centre. I stretched out my fingers, hoping to feel her, but she had them placed strategically so they were close enough for me to feel the heat radiating from her but not close enough to touch her. I couldn't help but moan, as she proceeded to give me a lap dance, making my hardness throb in excruciating pain. At this rate I was going to come in my pants, but I couldn't let this happen. I refused to let this happen – if I did, it would mean she had won.

With the hand she had used to place my hands under her duster she started unbuttoning the coat, starting from the top. Button by button, she exposed more of her magnificent body. She hadn't been lying, she really was naked under that damn duster. Giving me a devilish grin, she moved my head towards her neck, allowing me finally to drink her scent in and release some of my frustration with deep kisses. A soft moan escaped her lips, causing me to only increase my efforts. I sucked and nibbled my way down her jaw, tracing her neck and collarbone. I inched my way towards her breast and was just about to take one of her hard nipples into my mouth when she pulled me back.

I growled in irritation, as she laughed tauntingly.

 _That's it – no more._

In a flash I pulled my hands out and threw my arms around her (with the added satisfaction of watching a shock expression come across her face). Locking her in a tight embrace, I rocked back once to gain momentum, pulling us both out of the chair and on to the bed. Pinning her down, I devoured her lips in a hungry kiss, causing her to moan deeply as I bit into her bottom lip.

"Enough Roza. You win. I am sorry about last night. Now please un-cuff me", I begged breathless.

For a single heartbeat she laid there, contemplating on her next move. I don't know what made her decision – my begging or her own hunger – but next thing I know she had taken the key out and released me from my restraints. That was all I needed. Grabbing her arms, I pulled them up above her head, causing the duster to spread further apart, revealing more of her gorgeous body. I went to her neck, intending on finishing my trail of exploration that she had so rudely interrupted.

Everything else was either forgotten or discarded - the music playing in the background, the handcuffs, her duster, my clothes.

When we had both achieved the sweet release our bodies had been craving so desperately, I laid down next to her, pulling her into my arms. We waited for our breathing and heartrate to slow down, basking in each other's warmth. Tilting her head up, I gave her a gentle kiss.

"If this is the kind of punishment I have in store for me when I am bad, I think I want to be bad more often".

"Don't get fresh with me, comrade. I am still mad at you. But I wanted to make it very clear that from this day forward no other woman is allowed to touch you like that, nor are you permitted to touch anyone else but me in this manner", Rose replied with a cute scowl.

I smiled at her. This crazy woman, the love of my life. Why would I look or touch another woman when I had this goddess?

"I am truly sorry for what happened last night. But I promise you Roza, you are the only one I want – now and forever".

And with that declaration, I spent the rest of the night showing her just how much I was completely and utterly devoted to her.


	3. The Wedding Part I

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.**

 **Note: I** **know** **Dimitri is an introvert and his behaviour in 'Bachelor Party' is totally out of character. Which is why I kept saying:**

 **(1) Adrian was the mastermind behind the 'Bachelor Party' activities**

 **(2) Dimitri was** **extremely** **drunk and so everything he did was out of character**

 **Just wanted to state this incase anyone else wanted to point this out :P**

 **Otherwise thank you to everyone else who have given me positive/encouraging feedback on what I have done so far…**

 **Special shout out to:**

 **Gigi256 – your sweet words encourage me to be more daring and bold with my writing**

 **BookWretched – for being my awesome Beta**

 _As the big day draws close, will everything go smoothly for Rose and Dimitri or will there be more complications?  
_

***Note: There may be some spoilers to The Ruby Circle***

 **THE WEDDING PART I**

 **RPOV**

 _Fuck my life_

I have a hard life.

I am not trying to be a whiny bitch. Just stating the obvious.

Nothing has come easy to me – I have had to work really hard to get the things I want in my life.

Taking care of my best friend = hard

Becoming a badass guardian = hard

Finding and keeping my soulmate = hard

I think God (or whatever higher being is out there) has a sadistic approach when it comes to my life. Nothing can ever go to plan or be easy for me – otherwise how would it be 'entertaining'?

And so here I am (just two days from getting married to Dimitri) and instead of relaxing and taking care of last minute wedding details (which aren't many, thanks to Lissa playing wedding planner), I am getting ready to go out on a _fucking_ Strigoi raid.

Don't get me wrong – I know my duty as a guardian comes first before my personal life – but come on! Seriously! Can't Rose Hathaway just have this one event in her life go to plan without any drama!

I was sitting in one of the bigger meeting rooms, big enough to accommodate the large number of guardians present for this particular raid (the last time we had this many guardians was when we were rescuing Christian and Lissa from Dimitri).

The Guardian Council (with the reluctant support from the Moroi Council) had slowly started sanctioning small raids, targeting big groups of Strigoi that were gaining momentum in the US. We were using a combination of Dimitri's intel (from his days as Strigoi) and the information the Alchemists were gathering from their monitoring/observations. Most of these raids were small and precise, planned perfectly to the last detail (to minimise our losses). And at each raid, Dimitri and I were at the forefront, leading the team on each mission, ensuring we got our target and came out with no one from our side dying (getting injured, unfortunately, we couldn't avoid).

Hans waited until the guardians settled down and found their seats.

"Right, let's get down to business. It has come to our attention that a large group of Strigoi have been sighted near the outskirts of Philadelphia…"

And with that, Hans went into the finer details of the location, numbers and schematics of the raid. It took all my energy to stay focused on the debriefing, and keep my mind from wandering – splitting my thoughts between the wedding and what Dimitri could be doing at this moment in time. He and Christian had been called back to St Vlads for a surprise assessment of the new Moroi defence elective. Hopefully they would be done in time to make the wedding, but unfortunately not for the raid. This would be the first raid I would co-lead without him (Hans taking the reins in his absence).

The raid (like all other raids) was scheduled for daylight, and with the plan to mobilise the team by sunrise, we all had about two hours to get ready. As I made my way back to our apartment, to pack my raid bag, all I could think about was the wedding.

Truth be told, I thought I was going to have a long engagement, probably getting married in my 30s. But Lissa was not having any of it and had started bugging me a month after the proposal.

"Why do you have to be engaged for 10 years before you get married? What's stopping you from getting married sooner?"

I had looked at her like she was insane. "Seriously!? Are you nuts! I just got engaged. There is no rush for us to walk down the aisle. In the words of Beyonce he _'put a ring on it'_ – so he doesn't have to worry about me running off or something. Not to mention how expensive weddings are. We would need to save up heaps before we could do anything decent. So yeah, something sooner just isn't feasible".

Lissa had given me one of her famous pouts. "Rose, do you really think I would let you pay for the wedding? I will take care of everything. And no, don't even bother objecting. If I have to, I will make it an official royal order. You are my sister and you mean the world to me. As for waiting till you are in your 30s, that's just stupid! What's wrong about getting married next year? I only need a year to plan the wedding".

"Next year!? So I am getting married at 21! Come on Liss! That's sooo young!"

"Yes, it is. But tell me this – do you want to spend the rest of your life with Dimitri?"

"Yes"

"Do you see yourself with anyone else?"

"No"

"Do you have any doubts about your love for Dimitri or his love for you?"

"No"

"So why wait until you are in your 30s – why not start now? Would it really be so bad becoming Mrs. Dimitri Belikov at 21?"

I was stumped and couldn't find the words to counter argue. All the reasons that had been running in my head, that had convinced me that I couldn't (shouldn't) think about marriage until I was much older just didn't seem valid any more. What was stopping me from marrying the man of my dreams? I had no doubts or reservations about our love. We had been living together at Court since becoming guardians to Lissa and Christian (so we knew we wouldn't tear each other apart living under the same roof). And considering the close calls we had faced (in almost losing one another) – well life really was too short and unpredictable – so why wait in joining myself completely to my Dimitri?

Lissa saw my decision even before I voiced it and had grabbed me in a big hug, squealing in delight.

"You won't regret this Rose! I promise I will take care of everything!"

Lissa, knowing the challenges the guardians would face managing security for her attendance, decided the location of our wedding had to be somewhere in the States. Even though I had given her complete control on planning and executing the wedding (this was _sooooo_ not my thing), she still insisted on my involvement. I had moaned, grumbled and complained, but she wouldn't have any of it.

"Rose, I know you don't care for such things. But think about Dimitri. Think about his family. Think about your family. Everyone who loves you two wants to celebrate your love and I know you are still hesitant about getting married so young, but this is a big deal. This is a big day. Please, you need to put some effort into it. Think how happy you would make Dimitri. All he has ever dreamed about is making you his wife – standing in front of family and friends and proclaiming to the world that you are his and he is yours. Surely you can do this for him?"

Damn her, she knew my one weakness and had used it against me to finally get my input.

And so here we are, almost a year since Dimitri proposed to me at the Academy. We were having a Russian Winter Wedding (as an homage to Dimitri's roots). The ceremony would be officiated by Father Andrews from the Academy (it just made sense to us considering he had been a big part of our lives).

We had found a beautiful resort in Vail, Colorado – Arrabelle at Vail Square. It could be described as _'Bavarian luxury meets storybook fantasyland'_ and was breathtaking. Lissa had Hans scope the place out and when he gave his approval, she booked the whole resort for the wedding. Working alongside the Alchemists, she ensured that most of the staff and security for the wedding would be either Moroi or Dhampir (still don't know how she pulled that off). With the location and date fixed (November 13th – exactly a year since the beautiful proposal), the invites were sent out.

The guest list was difficult – naturally we wanted our families and close friends there – and then there were people who had come into our lives during one mission or another (like Mark and Oksana). But the most frustrating invitees – the Moroi Council.

"Why do I have to invite those stuck-up, two-faced snobs?! It's a Dhampir marrying another Dhampir – something most of them look down up on. Why would we want them there?"

But Lissa had explained that if the Queen attended the wedding then the Moroi Council had to be invited too – it was just polite protocol and expected.

"I know you don't want them there, but if I am to attend, they need to attend too. It's just the way it is. I'm really sorry".

After the challenges of the guest list, everything else was simple and easy: menu (a sit down banquet – mix of authentic Russian home-style cuisine, with a few Turkish and Scottish dishes), cake (a four-tiered chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting and chocolate scroll borders, finished with cascading white and brown chocolate roses on the side), DJ for music (a band was so not my thing), flowers for the bouquet and centre pieces (mix of lily, gardenias, jasmine and roses) and the dresses – mine and the bridesmaids.

Ok, maybe finding the perfect dress had not been easy (probably the second most challenging item after the guest list). I wasn't a girly-girl so didn't want anything that was over the top (like a princess gown). I can't remember how many stores we had visited or the endless Bridal magazines Lissa had made me flick through. I had started getting worried – it seemed like everything else was more or less sorted but the dress. I don't know why, but it suddenly became my mission to find the perfect dress – the dress that would give me goose bumps and make me feel worthy of Dimitri's love. I thought we had visited every store in Pennsylvania, but then we found one we hadn't noticed before. A small, family owned establishment that had one-of a kind pieces. And it was here when I finally found the dress – _my_ _wedding_ _dress_.

Pushing thoughts of the wedding out of my mind, I got ready and packed my bag, getting myself into battle mode. I tried to not think about the fact I was slightly anxious and nervous to go out on this raid without Dimitri – it wasn't that I didn't trust the other guardians in the team – I had just become so used to fighting with Dimitri side-by-side, his presence made me feel extra safe and boosted my confidence. I was tempted to call him, but chickened out at the last minute, knowing it would only make him worry and increase my anxiety.

It wasn't long before the teams were loaded in the black SUVs and we started making our way to the designated location – an abandoned power station – which was being used as a lair during daylight. Everyone in the car was quiet, focused on the task at hand and mentally preparing themselves for the battle. Once we got close enough to the power station (but still far away so as to not alert the Strigoi) we gathered around the cars to quickly re-cap the battle plan and do final checks of equipment.

The plan was to split into two teams, each team taking one of the two entrances. These teams would then split into half, with one half entering the building while the others stayed outside to take care of any Strigoi (or humans) that may try to get out. We didn't think there would be any victims, but if there was a remote possibility, the outside team would be able to offer assistance and medical care. Naturally Hans and I were leading the two teams that were actually entering the building. It was times like this I wished I was still shadow-kissed – having an in-built Strigoi detector was definitely an advantage.

Finally it was time and we all made our way to the power station (walking the last bit to give us the small element of surprise). No one dared to speak once we were there – no whispers of 'good luck' or 'see you later' – just curt nods, allowing the team to acknowledge we had each other's backs. It didn't take us long to find the Strigoi and the chaos of battle ensued. I lost count of how many Strigoi I staked and my team and I made our way deeper into the building, fanning out and making sure no corner or room was unchecked. My ear piece crackled with Hans and other guardians shouting information back and forth, and I was tempted to pull the damn thing out. My team reached the basement entrance and after a quick sweep of the area, we slowly made our way down in the darkness, turning on our vest lights.

There was only one room in the basement and luckily it only had four Strigoi, which didn't take us long to take care of. All in all, the raid was a success and I finally took a deep breath to calm my nerves and slow down my heartrate. No one had died from our side and we had killed close to fifteen Strigoi. As the injured were lead out and we did our final sweep of the place, I noticed cameras located through-out the building. It seemed strange that an abandoned building would have so many security cameras (which looked brand new and appeared to be recording). We didn't find any surveillance room, which further stumped us on why the cameras were there in the first place. Something didn't feel right – my gut instinct was telling me that we needed to investigate the cameras further, but Hans had other priorities and so the cameras were forgotten.

Once we had reached the Court everyone dispersed – the injured taken to the clinic while the rest of us headed back to the administration building to fill out our reports. I really wanted to go home and have a long, hot shower, but the damn reports had to be done before anything else (Hans insisted on this approach, stating it was good to fill them out while the memory of the battle was still fresh in our mind). It took almost three hours to finish the stupid reports and I was finally home. I didn't even make it to the shower, flopping onto the lounge and falling asleep.

I awoke the next day to someone knocking on the apartment door. My muscles felt stiff and sore, and I regretted not having the shower to allow my muscles to relax. I dragged myself to the door, and was surprised to find Lissa standing there, jumping from one foot to another in excitement, until she saw my appearance.

"Oh my God Rose! What happened? Are you ok?"

I had no idea how I looked like, but I knew it wouldn't be pretty – probably covered in bruises and blood.

"I'm fine Liss, just came back from a raid and fell asleep before I had a shower. Everything ok? Why are you here?"

"You forgot didn't you? We are supposed to be flying out today to Vail. You know for the wedding", she rolled her eyes.

"Shit! Ok, give me an hour to shower and get ready. My stuff is already packed so I will meet you at the airstrip".

An hour later we were in the air, making our way to Vail, Colorado. The plane was full of my bridal party and six royal guards (there for the protection of the queen and the other Moroi on board). I took the opportunity to get some sleep – I was still recovering from the battle and felt too tired to join in the excited chatter. Thankfully the girls let me be and didn't wake me till we reached our destination. It was as short trip from the airstrip to the resort and the newly fallen snow made the whole place look magical. Lissa had told me on the car ride over that wards had been placed around the resort for extra protection. Guardians would still patrol the area but at least this way we had two layers of protection.

I was staying in one of the King Suites and thankfully not by myself. Mia, one of my bridesmaids, was staying with me and I was glad for her company. I would have preferred Lissa but being Queen (and needing guards) she had her own suite (also Christian wanted to stay with her – so that would have been awkward). Jill too had her own room with guards (being the Dragomir Princess), plus I think she wanted the opportunity to spend time with Eddie. Sydney was with Adrian and Declan (who was our page boy), Sonya was with Mikhail and Viktoria was staying in a chalet with the other Belikovs – helping her sisters with their kids who were part of the wedding party – Paul was ring bearer, and Zoya and Katya (Sonya's daughter) were the flower girls.

We had arrived a day before the wedding to give us time to relax and take care of any last minute items. Lissa insisted I stay away from Dimitri, stating it would be bad luck if he saw me before the wedding. This did not bode well with me, as I hadn't seen him in two weeks and was missing him terribly.

' _I miss you Comrade!'_

' _Do you think we could sneak away somewhere and 'catch-up?''_

It didn't take Dimitri long to reply back to my texts.

' _I miss you too Roza. But I am being watched like a hawk and Lissa will know if we snuck away'_

' _I love you…'_

I sighed in frustration. This was going to be the longest 24 hours of my life.

' _I love you too…'_

 **Day of the Wedding**

I woke up to bright sunlight streaming into my room

I

Was

Getting

Married

Today

The thought made me bolt upright and I could feel the beginnings of anxiety and nerves stirring within me. But there was something else there too – excitement and immense joy. Today Dimitri would officially become my husband and we would be joined for the rest of our lives.

When I walked into the living room after my shower I found Mia setting up the small coffee table with our breakfast she had ordered.

"Morning Mrs. Belikova!"

I rolled my eyes at her and plonked down on the floor next to her to dig in.

"Not yet. Still have another 12 hours or so before I become Mrs. Belikova. Though even then no one will call me that – I will either be Guardian Hathaway or Guardian Belikova…"

It was Mia's turn to roll her eyes.

Before she could comment someone knocked on our door.

We looked at each other and shrugged. We weren't expecting the rest of the girls till after lunch (we were all going to get ready in my room) but it could have been any other number of people – we had been receiving visitors non-stop since our arrival yesterday. It had been an endless stream of well-wishers and hotel staff (who were either relaying messages, keeping me informed or getting my approval on final wedding details).

I got up and opened the door and found one of the bell-boys holding a large white box.

"Ms. Hathaway, these were delivered for you today".

Before I could ask anything (like who it was from) the boy handed me the box and walked away.

It wasn't heavy, so I balanced it in one hand and closed the door.

Mia watched me with silent curiosity, as I placed the box on the side table and opened it.

Inside were 12 blood red roses – fragrant, beautiful and perfect. Strangely they were covered in sharp thorns. I had received roses before and I had never seen any with as many thorns as these had. I wanted to touch the flowers but was wary of being pricked. Something about them made me feel uneasy, that even though they were gorgeous there was something sinister too. I saw the little envelope and hesitantly lifted it out.

I carefully took the card out of the envelope but before I could read the message and discover who the flowers were from a photo fell out of the envelope. My heart gave a loud thud and almost stopped beating. Two Dhampir girls were smiling in the photo, arms around each other as they posed and one was heavily pregnant.

It was a photo of Olive and Diana.

 **Poor Rose and Dimitri – they can never seem to catch a break.**

 **Any thoughts on who the flowers are from?**

 **I love getting reviews for my pieces, so please let me know what you think**


	4. The Wedding Part II

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA/Bloodlines and thank Richelle Mead for writing such awesome series.**

 **Note: Some of you may be wondering who Olive and Diana are – if you have read Bloodlines series you will know**

 **But just incase I have given some explanation but if you haven't read Ruby Circle and don't want it ruined then I suggest you don't read this chapter.**

 **Special shout out to:**

 **BookWretched – for being my awesome Beta**

 **Romitri – for your words of encouragement and 2** **nd** **opinion**

 _Will Rose and Dimitri make it to the altar or does fate have something else in store for them?  
_

***Note: There are spoilers to The Ruby Circle***

 **THE WEDDING PART II**

 **DPOV**

I woke up with a big grin on my face – today I was going to marry my Roza.

I still couldn't believe it, it felt like a fairy tale. How did I get so lucky?

I had just gotten out of my shower when someone knocked at my door.

It was Eddie, Neil, Christian and Adrian – my boys.

I felt a small lump in my throat as I thought about Ivan and how if he had been alive it would have been him standing next to me at the altar as my best man. Don't get me wrong, I loved Eddie as a little brother and had great respect for him, but we didn't have the same bond or history like Ivan and I had. _'I miss you Ivan'_ I thought sadly.

But I couldn't be sad on the biggest day of my life. And the boys wouldn't let me. Urging me to get ready so they could take me down for breakfast, they practically pulled me out my hotel room (and sad mood).

I was bursting with happiness because today I was finally going to marry my soulmate.

 **RPOV**

"Rose, what's wrong? You have been staring at that photo for almost 10 minutes. It's freaking me out!"

I jolted out of my trance when I heard Mia's voice right next to me. She must have walked over when I didn't respond to her earlier questions (whatever they were – I forgot where I was the moment I saw the photo of OIive and Diana).

"Who are these girls Rose and why do you look so freaked out?"

I took a deep breath.

"Can you give me a sec, Mia? I want to read the card so I can see who the flowers are from".

She gave me a quick nod and walked back to the coffee table. The worried expression never leaving her face.

I took another deep breath and turned the card around to read the message, feeling a small knot forming in my stomach with dread.

 _Dearest Rosemarie,_

 _First of all congratulations on your big day today – I couldn't be happier that you and Dimka found each other._

 _I was a bit hurt that I never got the chance to spend time with you both when we caught up in Michigan – after all it was the first time we met. I would have loved to have spent time with my soon-to-be daughter-in-law. And I am still hurting that I was not invited to your nuptials – after all I am family._

 _Anyway that doesn't matter, especially not since I found out something very interesting that can change the foundation of our society. It took a while, but Diana finally told me all about Olive and her 'special' baby._

 _I still have so many questions and well, can't wait to have them answered, so my dear I give you two choices._

 _Choice 1 – You come to me and answer these in person._

 _Choice 2 – I come to you and get my answers._

 _Personally I am leaning towards 2 as I would love to be at your wedding and see Dimka getting married. And there is the added bonus of seeing Olena and the girls – I haven't seen them in such a long time._

 _Let me know what you decide soon – if I don't hear from you within the hour of these flowers being delivered, I will assume you went with choice 2._

 _Otherwise call the number below. Either way I look forward to seeing you in person again._

 _Your loving father in law,_

 _Randall Ivashkov_

I felt bile rising in my throat and had to grab the table to steady myself.

I saw Mia getting ready to ask me something but I silenced her with a lifted finger, asking for another minute. Watching her squirm and ignoring it, I grabbed my phone and dialled the number at the bottom of the card. I heard someone answer on the other end after the first ring. I didn't wait for a proper response or greeting.

"I'm coming".

And just like that, half an hour later, instead of getting ready for my wedding, Mia and I were driving out of the resort and on our way to the rendezvous point to meet up with Randall.

I didn't have time to get into explanations with Mia (not if I wanted to be back in time for the wedding) so the only way I could appease her was to bring her along. We left a message for the girls with front desk saying we were having last-minute massages in the spa and that we would meet them in my room after lunch. I really hoped I would be back in time by then.

I didn't want to tell anyone about the note, especially Dimitri. He didn't need this stress today. No, I would take care of it. I had met Randall that one and only time in Michigan (when we were looking for Olive) and I still couldn't believe he was the abusive father Dimitri had beaten up at 13. He seemed like a harmless, randy drunk to me. And so with that image, I was confident I could handle Randall Ivashkov without Dimitri and be back in time to become his wife.

I was worried I wouldn't be let out of the resort, but with a little lie and some minor compulsion from Mia, we were able to convince the guardians at the gate that we had some last minute wedding things to take care of.

We had been driving silently for the last 10 minutes and I could see Mia was about to burst. She had been very patient and quiet, and hadn't questioned me when I had grabbed my stake and gun, giving her my spare gun to carry (I hoped we wouldn't need it, but you can never be too careful). I decided to finally fill her in on what was happening.

"Ok Mia, I know you are dying to know what the hell is going on. But first I need you to hear me out. You need to know the background story to understand why we are doing what we are about to do. I know you will have lots of questions but let me finish first before you interrupt me – it will be easier this way, ok?"

She gave me a quick nod, biting her lips nervously and attempting to hold back the questions that were probably already floating around in her head.

I took a deep breath and started my tale. Even now, as I say it out loud, it still feels like a fairy tale. And you would think an ex-shadow-kissed guardian about to marry a former-Strigoi-restored-Dhampir would be used to the impossible and the unexpected – apparently I wasn't.

"The girls in the photo are two Dhampirs – the pregnant girl's name was Olive and the other's was Diana. Long story short, Olive had been a Strigoi and her sister Nina, who was a Spirit user, found her and restored her like Dimitri and Sonya. The sisters had returned to Court to be monitored and help with the Spirit research that Sonya and Dimitri were working on. Not many people knew about them and they mostly kept to themselves. I don't know where or when it happened, but Olive and Neil fell in love. Next thing we know Olive had suddenly disappeared, telling her sister she needed time to recover and process the guilt she had experienced from her days as Strigoi. Everyone, including Nina respected her choice to leave, but soon it became apparent that Olive would not return and if anything she didn't want to be found. Nina tried everything, using a lot of Spirit to find her sister. She even asked Adrian to help her. I don't know how they did it, but they finally found Olive living in a Dhampir commune in Michigan. And that's when they discovered she was pregnant. Unfortunately Nina had used too much Spirit by then and was far too out of it to do anything, so Adrian, Sydney, Dimitri and I went to find Olive, in the hopes of bringing her home. We all just assumed that Olive had fallen pregnant after sleeping with some random Moroi – we weren't sure if it was consensual or not – but figured it was guilt that had kept her away. After all, we all knew she loved Neil and this would have devastated him. While we were there, trying to convince a very heavily pregnant Olive to come back with us, we bumped into Randall Ivashkov. Adrian's uncle and… Dimitri's father…"

At this revelation Mia gasped and her eyes bulged in surprise. She bit down harder on her lips, straining to not ask any follow-up questions.

"I know, I know. I was shocked too. But yeah, that was the first and last time I met Randall Ivashkov. Anyway, that night, a group of Strigoi attacked the commune and Olive panicked and ran into the woods. Normally, she would have easily taken care of the Strigoi that came after her, but unfortunately she had gone into labour and was distracted. The poor girl delivered the baby on her own, in the woods, fighting off a Strigoi. I don't know how she did it. Unfortunately, she didn't make it, but the baby survived. We got there just in time to hear her last words, and she gave the baby over to Adrian and Sydney…"

I saw Mia's eyes widen in understanding, a single word finally escaping her trembling lips.

"Declan…"

I gave her a sad smile.

"Yes, Declan is Olive's child…" I took a deep breath to steady my nervous before I revealed the biggest secret I had ever kept in my entire life.

"Mia, Declan is Olive and Neil's child. I know you are going to think I have gone mental or something. How can two Dhampirs possibly have a child together? And believe me, even I don't understand how it's possible. But we think it's got something to do with Spirit and that maybe being restored from her Strigoi state allowed Olive to conceive a baby with Neil. She was naturally afraid to tell him the truth because she thought he wouldn't believe her. Also she was worried that if people did believe her, her son would become a lab rat and she didn't want that. So a handful of people know the truth and have sworn to keep it a secret. For all intents and purpose, Declan is Sydney and Adrian's son, even if he isn't their biological son, they love him just the same and don't want the world to know the truth. And so here we are, on our way to meet my supposed 'father-in-law'. He somehow found out about Olive and Declan and gave a veiled threat to reveal the truth if I didn't come and talk to him. He also threatened to come to the wedding if I didn't go see him in person. I can't have that Mia. You don't know what kind of father he was to Dimitri and his sisters, the kind of husband he was to Olena. I can't put them through that kind of pain. So I am going to see him, answer his stupid questions and convince/threaten him to keep his mouth shut. I didn't mean for you to get involved, but I guess now you are. Promise me you won't tell anyone about Declan. Promise me!"

Mia had been squirming in her seat while she had been listening, but the moment I asked her for her promise, she stopped her fidgeting and with a determined look promised to keep the secret.

I was so grateful I nearly cried in relief. I was about to give her the chance to finally ask her questions when we suddenly came to the rendezvous point – a small park off the main road. I could see a black tinted SUV already waiting for us there. We got out of the car, and walked over. Someone was waiting for us, leaning against the side of the car. I felt my skin tingle, and my gut was warning me something wasn't right.

I should always trust my gut.

When we were only a few steps from the man standing by the car we were suddenly surrounded by others, dressed in black and carrying guns that were pointed at us. We had both reacted the instant we sensed the threat, drawing out our own weapons, but it was useless. We were outnumbered and out-gunned. I was finally able to register that these men were all human – not a single Moroi or Dhampir amongst them. Again I felt my skin prickle, knowing that humans (who weren't Alchemist) only helped one kind of vampires. The man leaning against the car straightened up and made his way to me, holding a black sack.

"Lord Ivashkov apologises for not being here but has asked me to bring you to him. I suggest you come along with us without a fuss otherwise this little lady will be punished for your behaviour".

Before I could give him a snarky reply, Mia, who had been hiding her other hand that was gathering moisture from the air, bought it forward with a suspended water fist that struck the guy in the face, making him stagger back and drop the sack he was holding. I took that as my cue to engage the men closest to me, who were thrown off by the display of magic. Mia and I were able to get in a few punches and kicks, but it was no use. There were too many and it wasn't long before they had grabbed us and taken our weapons.

The leader (well I presumed he was the leader because he was the only one who spoke) went over to Mia and gave her a hard slap, splitting her lip open.

"Leave her alone you bastard!" I growled with frustration and anger.

He looked at me with deep hatred and spoke with an eerie calmness.

"You are lucky that Lord Ivashkov wants to deliver a message to his son, otherwise this bitch would be dying a slow, painful death".

Before I could say anything more I felt someone hit me in the back of my head with something hard and the world slowly faded into darkness, the last word that escaped my lips – _'Dimitri'_.

 **DPOV**

After breakfast we all went back to my room to hang out and play some video games – to relieve stress as Eddie suggested. Even though I was happy beyond description and was surrounded by laughter and joy, I felt something twist in my stomach. I couldn't explain it, but deep down, I felt that something was wrong, very wrong. Maybe it was pre-wedding jitters, but that didn't seem right. I couldn't quite place what was worrying me, just that it was there, and it kept growing as the hours passed by.

We went back down to the restaurant to have a late lunch. The guys were joking around about what we would be doing on our honeymoon, when I heard Christian's phone buzz. The puzzled look on his face made me tune out the conversations that were happening around me, as I studied him. He was replying back to the text and took a quick moment to look around the restaurant, as if searching for someone, before going back to his phone to finish. The puzzled look remained on his face as he put his phone away.

"Everything ok?"

He looked up at me, startled by my question.

"Yeah, yeah. I am sure its ok. That was Lissa, just asking if Mia or Rose were here in the restaurant having lunch. They were all meant to meet up in Rose's room after lunch but when they got there Rose and Mia weren't in the room. I wouldn't be surprised if those two were still at the spa, getting pedicures or something".

I know he was trying to make it seem like it was nothing, but I felt every muscle in my body tense and tighten. The feeling in my stomach came to the forefront, and I was suddenly very worried. This was not like Rose, to disappear without leaving a note or something. Before I could tell Christian that I would go to the spa to check, a commotion at the restaurant's entrance stopped me. The conversation around the tabled abruptly ended too.

Mikhail rushed in, followed closely by other guardians. They looked around frantically until they spotted our table and quickly made their way over. Everyone at the table jumped up, tensing as we took in their sombre expressions – something was definitely wrong.

My heart sank to the floor when I saw Ryan step forward, carrying a small figure in his arms. She was bruised and bloody and was clutching something tightly in her hands. I thought she was unconscious but when Ryan murmured something to the lifeless figure, a small spark of life animated her just enough to turn and face me.

Mia's face was covered in dried blood and her lip looked swollen. I came close to her, taking her hands in mine, my heart beating out of my chest. She placed something small in them and whispered four words that tore my soul into shreds.

"Rose is in trouble…"

 **Oh no, do you think Rose will make it back in time for the wedding?**

 **What did Mia give to Dimitri?**

 **And what's up with Randall Ivashkov? Any thoughts?**

 **Let me know what you think**


	5. The Wedding Part III

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA/Bloodlines and thank Richelle Mead for writing such awesome series.**

 **Note: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up…was suffering from writer's block.**

 **Hope you like it – will be all DPOV**

 **Special shout out to:**

 **BookWretched – for being my awesome Beta** **(check out her stories – they are awesome!)**

 _Will Dimitri be able to save his Roza?  
_

***Note: There are spoilers to The Ruby Circle***

 **THE WEDDING PART III**

 **DPOV**

The last 24 hours have not gone the way I imagined they would.

I was supposed to be happy, feeling complete and married to my love.

Instead my heart aches, I feel lost and I have no idea where my Roza is.

Everything that happened after Mia handed me the USB is a blur – hearing about the ambush from Mia (before she passed out from exhaustion), finding our families to let them know what happened, watching the video on the USB, the Queen and the Moroi Council taken back to Court straight away for security reasons, the wedding getting cancelled, all of us returning to Court.

How did this happen? How can someone's life change so drastically in 24 hours?

Guardians are moving all around me, but I don't hear them or pay any attention. I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. I am hollow, empty. All I can do is stare at my hands and feel like a failure.

Abe and Janine have been channelling their anguish and anger towards getting things done – anything that will help them locate their daughter. Lissa has been in session with the Council for the last three hours, hoping to convince them to let the guardians put together a search and rescue party, but it doesn't look promising. Since our return I have remained at Guardian HQ, so I can be kept in the loop, but more importantly, I can't face our empty apartment.

Mia is still in the infirmary and I am waiting for her to wake up so she can give us more details. There must be something, anything that can help us.

The video on the USB (the only file on the stick) had been completely useless. It was a recording of the raid Rose had been in a few days ago (one that I had not been informed about). Hans had filled us in on the details and how the building had cameras. It now appears that there was a reason for those cameras being there – my sick, disturbing father had wanted to film the raid and send me this video – why, I don't know. Maybe it was to cause me pain, because that's what I felt every time I watched my Roza appear on the screen.

She was deadly, lethal and so, so beautiful. Her movements perfect and graceful, she dealt out death flawlessly. I just prayed that this wasn't the last image of Roza I would see.

As I sat there, holding my head in my hands, I felt someone lightly squeeze my shoulders. Looking up I saw Mia and Ryan standing next to me. Mia still looked like hell, the split lip had required some stiches and the bruises on her face had turned purple. She was leaning on Ryan for support and seemed to sway, still recovering from the after-effects of the pain meds.

"Dimitri, I need to give you something. Rose gave me this for safe keeping, because she didn't want it falling into the wrong hands. I am sorry I didn't give this to you yesterday, but I was pretty out of it. It came with the roses Randall sent to Rose".

She handed me an envelope, which contained a picture of Olive and Diana and a card from my bastard of a father. I felt my anger grow as I read his message.

"Please don't be mad at us, especially Rose. She didn't want you or your family to have to deal with your dad. And, Dimitri, she was worried about…about…"

I looked up at Mia, trying to soften my expression, hoping it would ease her enough to finish what she wanted to say. She took a deep breath, and leant in to whisper the rest.

"Dimitri, Randall found out about Declan".

I felt myself stiffen at those words. No, this cannot be happening. This man cannot be doing this again – ruining so many lives, hurting so many people.

Before either of us could say anything, Lissa burst through the doors, tears streaming down her face, anger flashing in her eyes.

"Those stupid assholes! I can't believe they are doing this! I can't believe they won't let us conduct a search and rescue!"

Everyone in the vicinity had stopped what they were doing, frozen in place. Total silence engulfed the room. No one had ever heard the Queen swear like that, not even her closest friends. Lissa's stormy eyes looked around until they fell on me.

"Get up Dimitri! Find Abe, Janine and Hans. We are going to have our own little session".

And with that, she turned and headed straight for one of the empty meeting rooms, followed closely by four of her royal guards.

I stood up slowly, still in shock. But before I could leave, Mia touched my arm to get my attention.

"Dimitri, I think it's time a few more people found out about, well, you know. I think you should bring the others to this meeting because I have a feeling this secret is going to come out soon".

Squeezing my arm in a small gesture of comfort, she and Ryan made their way to the room Lissa was currently occupying.

Taking a deep breath, I made my way to guest housing. To find Adrian and Sydney.

Fifteen minutes later we were all sitting around the meeting room, each one of us with varying emotions and expressions on our faces. Lissa and Christian looked determined, Abe and Janine fluctuated between fury and agony, Jill was being comforted by Eddie, while Sonya sat there quietly in Mikhail's arms, lost in some other world. Mia looked like she was about to faint and was leaning on Ryan for support. Neil, Sydney and Adrian looked sad and anxious, while Hans sat there with a grim expression.

It seemed like it was up to me to start the meeting, with no one else taking the initiative. But before I could say anything, my phone rang. I was about to ignore the call, when I caught the name and picture on the screen - _'Roza'_.

I had been trying her phone non-stop since yesterday and had left countless messages. So I was stunned to see the call – could she finally be calling me back? Is she safe?

I stumbled on the button to receive the call, forgetting everyone else around me.

"Roza?" I saw everyone else in the room stiffen as I said her name.

"No Dimka, unfortunately Rosemarie is currently unavailable, but I hope you will speak to me".

I gripped my phone tightly and my free hand clenched into a fist. Anger and hate boiled within me, and it took every ounce of control to not scream and shout at the bastard. I turned the speaker on before continuing the conversation, knowing from the looks everyone was giving me that they would want to know what was going on.

"What have you done with Rose? Why do you want her? If you hurt her, I swear I will kill you!"

A cold, sadistic laugh flowed through the phone before he responded.

"My, my Dimka. Aren't we a bit possessive? My daughter-in-law is fine... well, as fine as she can be in her current state. I have no intention of harming her… yet… as long as you follow my instructions. You see Dimka, we have some unfinished business and I was hoping to take care of it face to face. I will call you back in 15 mins to give you further instructions on what I need you to do and I suggest you don't miss my call. I am not a patient man".

And with that the line went dead. There was something different about his voice, it sounded cruel and cold – not something I recalled about him from my memories. But I felt a familiar sickness in the pit of my stomach and I prayed my suspicions would be wrong.

The silence that had surrounded the room during the call, was suddenly broken as everyone started talking and shouting. Abe was the loudest, flushed with pure rage and spewing out threats and ultimatums. It was total chaos and I didn't know how to calm everyone down nor what I should do next. Sydney was the only other person who had remained silent along with me, watching everyone and when she saw that the craziness would not die down, she stood up and gave a shrill, two finger whistle to get everyone's attention.

The noise was harsh, especially to the sensitive ears of Dhampir and Moroi, but it got the job done. Everyone suddenly shut up and looked at Sydney expectantly.

"Screaming and shouting all at once is not going to help us in anyway. We need to come up with a plan to save Rose. Lissa what did the Council say? Can we put together a team with the Court guardians?"

Lissa hung her head in shame, looking more like her teenage self than the Moroi Queen.

"No, they voted against the motion. We can't use them because she is just a Dhampir and this is a 'domestic' dispute. You would think the Ivashkovs would be for it, considering its one of their own who is involved, but nope. I hate them all so much sometimes, especially the Ivashkovs! No offence Adrian…"

"None taken cousin. I share in your sentiments", Adrian grinned, trying to mask his own worries.

Sydney watched the exchange quietly and took charge again.

"Ok, so where does this leave us? As I see it, Randall will call back and give Dimitri instructions on where and when to meet up with him. He will probably stipulate something like Dimitri needs to come alone or something, so anyone who is going to help him with this, and he will need help, will need to be hidden. Guardian Croft any thoughts?"

Hans looked at Sydney and gave a small smile.

"Well the Council have been quite clear on this matter regarding guardian involvement. However, as I see it, Neil here is not a Court guardian, so is free to do what he wants with his time. Same goes with Janine. Ryan, Mikhail, Dimitri and Eddie still have some vacation time they have not used, so if they wanted to use some of that time in the next few days I will not say no to them. What they do on their own downtime is none of my concern. I am happy to take over some of the royal guarding duties, and can keep an eye on her Highness… I mean Lissa".

It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. Hearing this gave us some hope. We would have liked more, but this was still better than nothing, though I wouldn't doubt that every guardian in the room would have found a way to help, even if it meant going against Hans and the Council.

Sydney gave Hans a curt nod and went back to addressing the room.

"Thank you Guardian Croft that is very much appreciated. Now I can help out with a few things so I will go with you guys while Adrian stays behind to look after Declan. Don't give me that look Ivashkov. You are staying and that's final! If you are up for it, we would appreciate your help in the rescue Christian and Sonya. Your powers could definitely be useful. We will keep ourselves in the distance so that we are not in any immediate danger or be a distraction for those going in. I am assuming that you will be part of the rescue Mr. Mazur and Guardian Hathaway?"

Janine and Abe looked at one another and with twin deadly smiles gave Sydney a quick nod. Abe's eyes sparkled with the promise of dangerous retribution.

"I am also happy to bring in some of my own personal bodyguards on the matter. Depending on what the time frame is, I can get at least 8 to 10 of my men here to help with the rescue".

A grin appeared on Sydney's face, hope flashing in her eyes.

"Excellent! This is sounding very promising. Now we just need to know where we are going so we can scope out the location and determine the best way to approach the mission. But before we get into this further, there is something we need to discuss. Something which may come to light during this rescue and we feel needs to be addressed now so it's not a total shock".

Sydney took a deep breath and looked at Adrian for confirmation and support. He gave her hand a quick squeeze to let her know he was there for her. God! That's what I have with my Roza. The heartache deepened and I felt tears pool up in my eyes. _No, Dimitri, you can't lose hope, you can't be weak. She needs you, so now is the time to man up!_

Sydney looked back at the group assembled around her and with another deep breath, took the photo of Olive and placed it in the middle of the table, before beginning her tale.

She had just finished telling everyone about Declan's true parentage but before anyone could say anything my phone rang again. This time I didn't hesitate and answered on the first ring, putting it on speaker straight away.

"Belikov"

"Ah Dimka. Good to see you are still an attentive, focused Guardian. Olena must be so proud. How are the girls and her, by the way? I so do miss them. Maybe after our catch up I might pay them a visit…"

"Leave them out of this! You said you have unfinished business with me. They don't need to be involved and they don't need to see you Randall!"

"DIMITRI BELIKOV! Do not talk to me like that! I am your father and I expect to be treated with respect and decorum. I may not be able to punish you for your rude behaviour, but I am sure Rosemarie won't mind taking it in your place. I wonder if she will scream the same way Olena did when I punished her. I wonder if her blood tastes just as sweet, if not sweeter…"

Before I could say anything, Abe's loud booming voice cracked through the room, as he shot up in pure rage.

"RANDALL IVASHKOV! If you so much as touch a single hair on Rose's head I will personally make sure your death is a slow and painful one! I will skin you alive, tear you limb by limb and make sure you remain awake for the whole ordeal as you see yourself pulled apart!"

Janine tried to calm Abe by stroking his back and arms, but the man was trembling in fury from head to toe. For the first time in my life I was glad that Abe Mazur was on our side.

There was silence for a few minutes on the other end and I started to worry Randall had hung up. But when the cold, deadly voice returned it was lined with something sinister.

"Ibrahim Mazur, is that you? It has been far too long. I must say I am surprised you are involved in this. I know you have always had a soft spot for the Belikovs and you are one of the reasons why I had to stay away from them – something I am not happy about and will deal with at another time – but hearing you so angry and passionate about a simple Dhampir girl, it makes me wonder why you are so invested in her?"

I held my breath, just like Abe, as we both realised we had given Randall yet another reason to harm Rose. _Please don't figure out he is her father, please don't figure out he is her father,_ I prayed internally.

But luck was not on our side.

"Oh Dimka, you sure do know how to pick them! Of all the girls in the world you could have fallen for, you had to pick Zmey junior! But then again I can see the attraction. She is beautiful, that can't be denied, and she has her father's fire and passion, which I am sure makes for an interesting and exciting sex life, hmm?"

I felt bile in the back of my throat and did my very best to keep my emotions in check. I couldn't afford to lose my control again. I couldn't give him any excuse to hurt my Roza. Abe had gone pale as he realised his mistake – revealing himself as Rose's father meant revealing his greatest weakness. He slumped down in the chair and rested against Janine, looking for support and comfort. I had never seen him like this, and it scared me.

Trying to find the courage and strength Rose had always told me I had (though I never believed her), I spoke to Randall, ignoring his earlier question.

"Randall, you said you would let me know when and where you wanted us to meet up. Please tell me, so I can be there. I will do anything you want, just please don't hurt Rose".

He gave a stony laugh before he replied.

"Yes you are right Dimka. I said I would give you instructions and so here they are. We are somewhere in Indiana, I will text you the address of the location. You need to come alone and unarmed. If I see anyone else in the vicinity, and trust me I will, I will kill her, whether you are here or not. I expect you to get to the property by tomorrow 10pm sharp. For each minute you make me wait, well let's just say Rose will lose more than her beautiful hair. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes" was all I could say, my emotions stretched to their limits.

"Well then Dimka, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow". And with that the line went dead.

Everyone sat there quietly, holding their breaths, what for I don't know. I just stared at the phone, hoping to somehow see my Roza. I wished I could have spoken to her, to hear her voice, to know she was ok. My thoughts were interrupted by a small buzz from my phone, as Randall sent me the text with the address. I passed the phone to Sydney, trusting her to look into this. I collapsed into the chair, my head yet again in my hands as everyone else broke out of the silent spell and started speaking and moving around me.

Everything was a blur as we got ready for the mission. I was on auto pilot, letting others tell me what to do, where to go, even what to eat. I was in battle mode and I had to keep my focus. I tried to keep myself busy, scared that any downtime, any quiet time would make me think of Rose and the emotions I was holding back would consume me. Sydney, Abe and Janine worked together on the plan. The location was an isolated farm near the northern border of the state. A single storey property with a lot of land and encased by a small forest in the east. Sydney was planning on hiding herself, Christian and Sonya in the forest, where they would monitor the situation through cameras (located on the guardians) and binoculars. Once given the all clear they would come closer to the property to help out as back-up with their magic. Eddie, Neil, Mikhail, Ryan, and Janine were going to be given invisibility lockets that Sydney would make, so they could make their way on to the property undetected and take out the guards. Abe and his men would remain hidden until given the all clear to move in and help the others take out what was left of the inside guards and Randall. I would abide by Randall's wishes and meet his men down the road of the property, unarmed and alone.

It wasn't long before we were making our way to the property. We had taken Abe's private jet from Court and had organised rental cars to take us the rest of the way in Indiana. I had my own car, while the others shared. I tried to push back the fear and anxiety and keep my hopes up, knowing that the closer I got, the sooner I would see Rose.

Being in the middle of nowhere with not many street lamps, the whole place was dark. It was the middle of the night, and we had to stay alert. Not only for Randall's men hidden in the darkness but the possibility of Strigoi. I left my car in the designated area and made my way towards the property. I had a small camera attached to my collar, hidden from view, so the others could see what I saw. I wasn't in my normal combat gear as I didn't want Randall to even get a hint of the possibility that there was a fight to come.

After his men (humans) had intercepted me and patted me down for weapons, they lead me towards the property. From the outside it looked very old, like it was falling apart and had seen better days, but there was light and activity inside. I kept my gaze forward, not wanting to tip-off the guards that I was taking in the surrounding environment. I had no doubt there were others hidden amongst the trees and darkness, patrolling the area.

I was led through the house, straight towards the back family room, where I assumed Randall was. Again I saw more men, spread throughout the various rooms and entrances. So far I had counted at least 15 human guards inside the property. I noticed the dark light-blocking curtains, and the way the guards carried themselves. They were alert, but with some hesitance and nervousness. The last time I had seen humans like this was when they were around Strigoi.

Randall was waiting for me in the large family room that housed a large desk and leather lounges. His back was facing me and he appeared to be talking to someone. Sensing my approach he slowly turned around. I felt my heart skip a beat and my breath caught in my throat.

Randall, my deadbeat, abusive Moroi father was standing before me as a Strigoi.

How could this have happened?

When did this happen?

He was already a monster, did he really need to complete his transformation and become the ultimate monster?

I looked away from his red ringed eyes and took in the room. Rose was not here.

"Where is she? Where is Rose?"

A small smile appeared on his pale face, as he sized me up.

"She is somewhere in the house, but you shouldn't concern yourself. We have so much catching up to do first, Dimka".

And just like that he was in front of me, grabbing me by my neck.

"I have to say Dimka, I am surprised you followed my instructions and came here alone, unarmed. You are either very foolish or very brave. You really must love this girl if you are willing to put your own life on the line like this".

I took a deep breath and looked directly into those cold, deadly eyes.

"I love her with all my heart and soul. I would gladly lay my life down for Roza without a second thought".

Randall gave me a cold smirk and suddenly pulled me in closer so my neck was directly under his mouth.

"Hmm, I can hear your blood rushing through your veins. I can smell your sweat. You are trying to keep calm, but your body is saying you are anything but. Don't you miss it? The rush of taking a life, consuming the very essence of a living being. Having all of your senses heightened, that every touch, every smell is beyond comparison to what you have experienced before. You could join me Dimka, and together we could rule the world. I have heard you were very powerful in your own right when you were Strigoi. Imagine what we could do, together as father and son".

Before I could even utter a single word his fangs were in me, drinking my blood. Even though it was only for a few seconds I still felt the slight effects of the endorphins rushing through my body. I fought back against the overwhelming sensation of bliss – I was not going to let my guard down. Randall pulled back suddenly, a look of disgust on his face.

"What is wrong with your blood Dimka? Why does it taste so strange?"

I couldn't help but smile, feeling satisfied with the thought that there was no way my father could drink me dry and turn me. The most he could do would be to snap my neck and kill me, something I would prefer over turning back into the monster that still haunted my nightmares.

"It doesn't matter Randall. I am here because you wanted to talk. But before we do that I need to see Rose. I need to know she is ok. That is the least you could do considering I fulfilled your instructions".

I held my head high and met his gaze. I had to look respectful, but not weak. I still remembered those days of being Strigoi – prey vs. predator. I could not let him make me his prey. I had to be the predator, a sneaky predator.

He looked at me, deep in thought before giving a quick nod to one of the guards, who turned and walked out of the room. It felt like hours, but really it was only a few minutes before the guard came back, carrying a small figure in his arms.

She lay there, so still and looked so small. Her beautiful hair hid her face from me. She seemed so fragile, so vulnerable. I wanted to take her from the guard's arms. It should be me, only me who gets to hold Roza like that. But I stay put, knowing that the last thing I want to do is anger the dangerous Strigoi in the room. I can't help but wonder if he is the only one here or if there are other Strigoi nearby – this could definitely hinder our plans.

My gaze followed the guard as he lay Rose down on the lounge, leaving her hair still covering her face. Was she sleeping? Drugged? She wasn't moving, but I could see her steady breathing. My hand twitched beside me, desperately wanting to reach out and push her hair back, stroke her beautiful face, kiss her soft lips. Instead I turned back to face Randall. I had to get some answers of my own.

"How did you become Strigoi? When did you become Strigoi?"

He kept his hard gaze on me, contemplating on how much he would divulge. I didn't hold much hope that he would listen to me, let alone answer my questions, so you can imagine I was surprised when he did.

"It happened 6 months ago. I was out of money and completely cut off from the Ivashkovs, even Nathan. I hated feeling so weak and out of control. I wanted to feel powerful again. I wanted to take what was mine and damn the consequence! I was tired of staying under the radar – shunned from Court, ignored by my family, ridiculed by all other Moroi. So I decided one day I would become the master of my own destiny and that day I found a human and drained her. Now I am finally who I was supposed to be – a God amongst men!"

I bit my tongue, holding back the harsh words that wanted to pour out. How could he do this to himself willingly? I knew he was an abusive and sadistic asshole, but to willingly become this monster, to take a life without remorse, I guess I didn't realise just how dangerous Randall Ivashkov really was.

"And so now that you are this 'God', what are your plans? Why am I here? Do you really want me to join you and your little empire? Don't you have other Strigoi already following you?"

I was hoping my stroking his ego just a tiny fraction he would become complacent and divulge his real goals. Randall might be a deadly, dangerous Strigoi, but he never was smart when he was a Moroi. I just hoped some of that stupidity had carried over after his awakening.

He studied me carefully, lost in another world for a moment, before his eyes suddenly flicked towards Rose. A dangerous smile appeared on his face, one that made my blood freeze.

Before I knew what was happening, Randall had used his Strigoi speed and was now bent right in front of Rose. I took a step forward and the guards next to me grabbed my arms instantly, holding me in place. I watched as my father carefully moved the hair away from Rose's face, like she was a delicate flower. My breath caught in my throat, as I saw the bruises and black eye. But even with all of this marring her face she still looked breathtaking. And I wanted nothing more than to grab the hand Randall was using to touch her and break it into tiny pieces.

"She really is a beauty Dimka. And so young. You won't mind if I just have one little taste will you? I won't kill her, not yet anyway. But I just can't resist. She reminds me so much of Olena when she was young. Beautiful, fiery, passionate. Ah, to be young and in love".

And with that, he sunk his teeth into her neck before I could utter my protest.

I lost it, whatever control I had, was gone in that instant. I struggled and fought my guards, causing more to come and hold me back. I heard growls and snarls, and suddenly realised the sounds were coming from me. I was no longer the controlled, seasoned guardian. No, I was a vengeful, lethal being who wanted to destroy everyone in that room to protect the one he loved.

Thankfully I didn't have to go rogue because a few things happened all at once.

First Randall pulled back in disgust after taking in a bit of Roses blood, probably tasting the same 'foulness' he tasted in my blood. What he didn't know was that just like Neil, Rose and the other guardians had all gotten tattoos that were inked with the special Spirit blood, which would prevent them from being turned into Strigoi. A small smile fell on my lips as I thought about the tattoo Rose had gotten – my initials just below her left hip. While Randall recovered from the foul blood he had consumed and was getting ready to question me, the large window shattered into millions of pieces as Abe and his men stormed the building. Eddie, Neil and Ryan suddenly materialised out of nowhere right by my side and took down the guards who were holding me back. While Abe was busy engaging Randall, I made my way to Rose, only focused on getting her out of here. But Randall was fast and had sensed me coming. He spun around and grabbed her by her neck in one quick movement, lifting her off the lounge like she was a rag doll.

"STOP! Or I will snap her pretty little neck!"

The mini-fights that were happening around us all stopped at his loud command. We couldn't let him take back control but he had Rose and it wouldn't take him much to snap her neck. We were in stalemate for only a few seconds because suddenly someone with red, fiery curls had thrown themselves on Randall from behind, pushing him towards the large mahogany desk. His grip on Rose loosened just as his body slammed into the desk.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion somehow. I watched in horror as Rose's body fell side-ways and her head slammed hard into the corner of the desk. Janine and Abe were too busy with Randall and everyone had resumed their fighting. My feet felt like they were made of lead, I just couldn't seem to walk fast enough to her.

I grabbed her before she fell to the floor, feeling the blood trickle down the back of her head and neck. Her eyes fluttered behind her closed lids, and a small moan escaped her lips. Her breathing became erratic and my heart started thundering in my chest.

"Roza! Roza! Please wake up. It's me, Dimitri. Oh God! Please Roza, wake up", I begged.

Her eyes fluttered open for a few seconds, recognition shining in her eyes.

"Dimitri…" was all that came out of her lips before she fell silent and her breathing became laboured.

I watched in horror as Janine grabbed her out of my arms, laying her down on the floor and started CPR. All the noises around me faded into nothing, the people forgotten. My eyes never left her face, as I watched frozen while Janine did the compressions and gave mouth to mouth. I felt numb, my heart felt like it was being ripped out of my body. _Not again, damn it! Not again!_ Why did this keep happening to us?

I couldn't breathe and I wondered if my body was just mirroring what Rose's body was going through. After all we have always been so synced that it wouldn't surprise me if my body died the same time she did. In fact I would welcome it. I could not possibly live in a world without my Roza. I don't know what happened next, because suddenly everything turned black.

When I woke up I realised I was in some kind of infirmary. It looked like the one back in Court. How did I get here? I looked around and saw Eddie sitting in a chair next to me, watching me intently as I slowly woke up.

"You scared us there for a moment Dimitri – who knew the great Russian God could faint".

I think he was trying to use humour to diffuse the tension and anxiety that had suddenly increased in the room.

"Rose!" I practically jumped out of my bed.

"Hey, hey calm down Dimitri. She is fine. She is in the next room. The doctors said you went into some kind of shock or had some kind of panic attack. It probably didn't help that you hadn't eaten anything proper since the lunch at the resort. You need to take it easy. You are not doing anyone any favours by collapsing again".

I nodded and laid back down.

"Please can you ask the doctor to come and see me", I whispered to Eddie. I needed to get out of this damn bed!

He gave me a quick nod and left the room. A few minutes later a doctor came in to check my vitals. I prayed he would say everything was fine and that I could finally leave. I just wanted to see Rose and hold her in my arms. The fact that she was in the next room gave me hope she wasn't badly injured and doubly thankful she wasn't dead (like I had feared).

After checking me thoroughly he instructed the nurse (who had followed him inside) to remove the IV drip – I could finally leave. The moment the needle was out of my hand, I was practically jumping out of my bed and stumbling into the next room. Eddie followed closely, still worried I would faint or something. I didn't care about myself, only the sight that lay before me. She looked so peaceful, so angelic. Her dark curls fanned out on the stark white pillow and her bruises didn't seem so bad in the fluorescent light. Janine was asleep in the chair next to her, and I could only assume Abe was nearby somewhere. I hesitantly took a step closer, causing Janine to wake up and fall into a fighting stance. When she saw it was only me she relaxed and fell back in her chair, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Dimitri, what are you doing up? Did the doctors say it was ok for you to leave your bed?"

All I could do was nod. I seemed to have lost the ability to speak. I just kept staring at Rose. Why is she still asleep? What's going on? I want to ask, but my mind fails to connect my mouth to my brain. I couldn't help but look at Janine in utter despair, hoping my eyes would convey everything I wanted to ask but couldn't seem to at this moment.

Thankfully she understood and came over to give me a small hug.

"The doctors say she has a concussion. Luckily the head injury wasn't too bad and she didn't lose a lot of blood. But the fact that Randall had her in a drugged-up state meant her heartrate was already irregular. They had to put her in a medically induced coma to help her body heal on its own".

A hiss is all that comes out of my mouth and I stagger back, feeling Eddie's reassuring arm reach out to guide me towards the chair Janine had been sitting in. Medically induced coma. _She is in a coma!_

I stay by her bedside after that and no amount of begging or reasoning from anyone makes me leave my spot. They bring me food and I eat the bare minimum so I can stay alive and awake, waiting for her to come back to me.

We were meant to be married right now! Our honeymoon wasn't for another 3 months but if things had gone as they were supposed to, we would be back in the apartment, starting our life as husband and wife. Laughing, cuddling and making love. Not sitting here in the hospital, not with her in a coma and me keeping a constant vigil next to her.

Why is the world so cruel?

Why are we not allowed our happiness?

Have we not given our entire lives to our profession, to others? How much more selfless can we be? Is it so bad for us to want this little bit of happiness for ourselves?

It's been a week since Rose has been in her coma and the doctors finally feel she is ready to be brought back. I stay in my spot, holding her hand like always, while Janine, Abe, Lissa and Christian are nearby. The others wanted to be here too, but the doctors were worried it would be overwhelming for Rose to have too many people all at once surrounding her. It felt like hours, but slowly Rose's eyes fluttered open. Those beautiful brown eyes. How I missed them. She slowly scanned the faces that surround her, until finally her eyes meet mine. Our gazes lock and I felt my soul rejoice. She was alive and awake! I wanted to hold her and kiss her more than anything in the world right then. I am so lost in my own happiness I didn't notice her expression changing. She looked so confused and scared and her eyes scanned over everyone again before falling back to me.

Pulling her hand out of mine and she quietly whispered, "Who are you?"

 **Poor Dimitri, what's wrong with Rose?**

 **And what happened to Randall?  
Part IV (final part of the Wedding piece) is ready – just doing final edits and check.**

 **Should I post it later today or end of the week?  
Decisions, decisions… :P**


	6. The Wedding Part IV

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA/Bloodlines and thank Richelle Mead for writing such awesome series.  
Nor do I own the songs by John Legend or Celine Dion.**

 **Note: So this is the last part of the Wedding piece – hope you like it.  
You might not agree with some of my choices, but meh my story, my imagination **

**Have posted links on my profile for the resort, cake and dresses – sorry about the weird formatting, had to do it so it would come up.**

 **And sorry I couldn't update earlier – back at work this week**

 **Special shout out to:**

 **BookWretched – for being my awesome Beta** **(check out her stories – they are awesome!)  
Truly appreciate your patience and unwavering support ****  
And Belated Happy Birthday!**

 _Will Rose's memory return? Will Dimitri and Rose finally get married?  
_

***Note: There are spoilers to The Ruby Circle***

 **THE WEDDING PART IV**

 **DPOV**

Post-traumatic amnesia.

That's what Rose is experiencing.

I sit here quietly, tuning in and out of the speech the doctor is giving, as he explains how the amnesia could have occurred and the ways we can help Rose regain her memory. My entire focus is on her, my Roza. If Janine hadn't already staked Randall I would be out there right now, hunting him down and making him pay for everything he has put Rose through.

I can't help feeling useless, as I watch her bring her knees close to her chest and hug them. She looks around scared and confused. I want to reach out and take her into my arms, but I know she won't find it comforting – considering only a few minutes ago she had pulled her hand away from me. I try not to focus on the pain that simple action had caused me – it isn't her fault she doesn't recognise me – but it still hurts like hell.

I am so lost in my own thoughts and despair I didn't realise the doctor had left the room. A gentle tap on my shoulder brings me back. I turn to see Lissa hovering near me. I think she saw I hadn't been paying much attention to what the doctor was saying, so she gives me the condensed version of his talk.

"The doctor said we should take turns to show her things from her past, talk to her and help her remember. But we mustn't overwhelm her. Why don't you go home, take a shower, maybe even get some sleep and then come back. One of us will always be here with her. Maybe you can bring something that will help her remember".

I didn't want to leave her side, but what else can I do? She doesn't want to talk to me, let alone acknowledge my presence, so I decide to listen to Lissa and head on home.

The apartment feels empty and depressing. It's too quiet. No laughter, squeals, moans or any kind of emotion. It doesn't feel like a home, just a place with four walls and a roof. The longer I stay the more I feel suffocated. So I rush into the bathroom for a quick shower, change my clothes and return to the hospital – even if she doesn't know who I am, it's still better to be by her side than being in this lifeless apartment.

I decide to let the others engage with Rose, sitting back in the chair next to her bed and listening as they share various memories from her life. Photos and trinkets are handed to her as I learn more about my Roza – some stories I have heard or have been a part of, others are new to me, especially those from before my time at the academy. Most are happy memories, but some are sad too – the first time she broke her leg, the car accident that killed the Dragomirs, running away from the academy, Lissa's kidnapping, Mason's death, Strigoi attacking the academy, me turning Strigoi and so on. It still amazes me to this day that for someone so young she has experienced so much in her life and yet, even after all that hardship, she is so alive, so passionate and so loving. I pray that her memory returns soon so she can go back to being that vibrant, carefree Rose Hathaway I fell in love with and not this scared, vulnerable girl lying in her hospital room dazed and frightened – this was not my Roza and it killed me that I couldn't do anything to bring her back.

Rose is kept in the hospital for another few days, as the doctors want to keep an eye on her recovery. Once she's discharged we take her back to our apartment. There is a lot of back and forth discussion on this matter – some weren't sure if this was a good idea (mainly Janine) because they were concerned it would be too much for her to suddenly be with a complete stranger in an apartment by herself, while others (myself and Lissa) argued that she needed normalcy and the best way to do that was for her to go back to her old life, starting with returning to her home.

Abe, Janine, Lissa, Christian and Eddie accompany us back to the apartment. Rose is no longer fearful around us, but her memory loss keeps her hesitant and distant. She knows who we all are and what parts we play in her life, but she's still struggling to grasp it all, especially the fact that she has a fiancé who's seven years older than her and used to be her mentor. It isn't long before everyone has left and I suggest it would be best if she goes to sleep. She eyes me nervously when she sees the king sized bed – the only bed in the apartment. I can tell she won't be comfortable sleeping next to me, no matter what my relationship is to her, so I offer to sleep on the couch, fibbing that I have some work to catch up on and wouldn't want to keep her awake. Relief shines in her dark, brown eyes as she gives me a small timid kiss on the cheek before closing the bedroom door. I return to the couch, pulling my shirt, shoes and socks off. As I lie down, I hope I can get some form of sleep.

I wake up to eerie silence and endless darkness. The last threads of my nightmare slipping through my conscious mind, I try not to recall the red eyes, Roza's lifeless face and the soul-crushing emptiness I had just experienced. It's still the middle of the Moroi night, so I get up to get a glass of water. While I'm up, I decide to check on Rose and so I slowly creep towards our bedroom door. I'm shocked to hear muffled crying and briefly wonder if she has had a nightmare too. Carefully I open the door, hoping to not wake her up (incase I'm wrong).

My jaw drops open at the sight before me.

The room is a complete mess, clothes scattered everywhere as if she has been searching for something. I find her sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. Her eyes are closed and she's clutching an object tightly in her hands with tears running down her face, in full sobbing mode. An open box lies next to her – I've never seen it before. I want to take those few steps and pull her into my arms, but I worry about how she will react. Nonetheless I can't just stand here, gaping at her while she cries her eyes out. Apparently my silent step isn't so silent and her eyes fly open. What I see next though her watery eyes makes my soul sing and my heart skip a beat.

Recognition.

I rush to her at the same time that she jumps up and runs to me. We fall into each other's arms and drop to the floor, neither one letting go of the other.

I am finally where I should be.

 **RPOV**

It's scary not knowing who you are.

Even more so when you can't recognise the people around you.

I guess I should be happy with the knowledge that I am at least someone who is loved by so many – that I have parents, a best friend, some namesake brothers and a fiancé. How can someone so young have a fiancé? But I guess we love each other a lot for us to be committing to one another so young. I just wish I remembered – it's very frustrating hearing all the stories about my life but not recalling a single one.

I am now home, or so they say. This is the apartment I share with my fiancé, Dimitri Belikov. Of all the people around me, he is the most distant. Guess this is hard for him too, me not recognising him and keeping my own distance. I wish I remembered him – there is something about him that calls me to him. I want to take him into my arms and hold him, even though he is no better than any other stranger I would meet on the street. There is something about him though that is different to the others in my life, I can feel it deep within me.

There is an awkward moment when we realise there is only one bedroom and bed in the apartment. I can tell he doesn't want to cause me discomfort by sleeping next to me, though a part of me wants him to. I can see through his lie, as he excuses himself to the couch for the night.

Why can't I remember my life?

I shower and change for bed, grabbing a random t-shirt that is lying on the bed. It's too big for me, it must have been Dimitri's. I should change, but I can't bring myself to. It smells of him and it feels like he is holding me. Guess this is the best I will get tonight and with that thought I climb into bed, wondering if I will fall asleep.

Images flash before my eyes – I can't differentiate between my memories and dreams. It's all too much and suddenly I bolt upright in bed, drenched in sweat. I need to find something, something I feel is key to getting my memory back. I rush out of bed and start tearing the room apart looking for it – still now knowing what it is I am looking for. I let my thoughts and senses guide me, I don't even realise I have made a complete mess of the room. Something pulls me towards the top high-shelf in the walk in wardrobe. A small wooden box is hidden behind another box. I pull it down and head back towards the bed, sliding down to the floor.

With slight apprehension I open the box and it feels like I have opened some hidden lid in my own mind, as I am bombarded by all the moments I have experienced in my life. From my earliest memory (meeting Lissa for the first time in kindergarten and getting in trouble with the teacher) to my most recent one (seeing Randall as Strigoi and being tortured by him). I don't even realise I am crying, not just crying but full on sobbing. I try to clear my eyes so I can look at the items in the box better and one item catches my attention, something telling me it meant the most to me – it's Victor's lust charm.

Dimitri had found the necklace underneath his room window a few days later and had kept it. He gave it to me when we returned to the academy after the Spokane incident, telling me he saved it as a memento of that night. It was a special night for both of us, not because of what we had almost done physically but because we finally realised how connected we were to each other emotionally and spiritually. Holding the necklace in my hands, I close my eyes and allow myself to be bombarded by every single memory I had of Dimitri – our training sessions, our stolen kisses and cuddles, the cabin, Russia, our escape, the proposal. It all comes rushing back and the deluge of emotions makes me feel like my heart is going to burst. My eyes snap open when I hear someone enter the room.

It's him – my soulmate, my heart, my Dimitri. How is it even possible that I had forgotten him?

We run to each other and hold on tight, never wanting to ever let go.

I'm finally home.

 **Three months later**

 **RPOV**

We are supposed to be on our honeymoon right now – if things had gone to plan.

But they rarely ever do for us.

So here we are in Russia, the first leg of what would have been our honeymoon, but instead we are taking it as a much needed vacation. The tickets to Russia had been paid in advance and were non-refundable. Everyone at Court suggested we not waste the opportunity to have some much time to ourselves.

Little did I know there was another reason for us being here.

We reached Baia a couple of days before Valentine's day and were staying with Dimitri's family. I couldn't help but feel something was up. Yeva kept giving my sly looks and whenever I entered a room, whatever hushed conversation was happening would suddenly stop and I would be engaged in some random topic. Even Dimitri was acting strange, disappearing for a few hours here and there, under the pretext of running errands for Olena.

Today, on 13th February, a surprise visitor turned up at our door – my dad.

"What are you doing here old man?"

I'm surprised to see him – I knew he had relocated to the Court on a more permeant basis because that's where I'm now. I was even more surprised to find out that my mum had been re-assigned to become his guardian – something I am sure he pulled off with his connections. I think after all the close calls I had with my life, they both had decided they wanted to stay near me, fearful of losing me and wanting to play a larger part in my life after having been absent for almost 18 years.

"A Kiz, can't your father just come visit without any reason? Even if you are supposed to be on your vacation".

A sly smile is on his face and I know in my gut he is up to something. I give him my best Rose Hathaway glare.

"What are you up to Baba? I can tell you are in the middle of something, something that clearly involves me".

He tries to change his expression into a more innocent one, though the grin remains.

"Well I was wondering if you would like to spend some time with me Kiz. In fact I was hoping to take you to my home here in Baia. Last time you were here, well I never got the chance to show you my place".

He actually has the audacity to give me puppy-dog eyes to emphasise how much he wants this.

I give him a small chuckle. It's hard to say no to him – guess I can understand why other people get frustrated with me when I give them the same look.

"Sure Baba, let me just text Dimitri so he knows where I am. He has been out since early morning - God only knows where!"

I can't hide my frustration at the thought. I decide I'm going to corner him later today and ask him why he's been acting so strange.

 _Hey Comrade, going to spend the day with Abe. Let me know when you are back at home and I will return._

His reply comes back straight away, almost like he's expecting my text.

 _Hi Roza. Maybe you should spend the night there. Something has come up and I will be staying overnight in Omsk. It's up to you in the end, but I am sure Abe would like to spend as much time as he can with you._

I stare at my phone – what the hell!? I try to call him, but it goes straight to voicemail. What on earth is going on?

 _Dimitri Belikov, what is going on? You have been acting strange since we have arrived in Baia and now you are suddenly staying overnight somewhere – something you failed to mention in your plans for today. And now you are not picking up your phone! You better have a good reason for your behaviour mister, otherwise you are in big trouble!_

Thankfully he at least replies back to my message within a few minutes.

 _Roza please be calm and patient. All will be revealed soon. I promise. Please trust me and know it's nothing bad._

I look at Abe and see him staring at me intently, making me wonder if he knows what is going on. Guess I'm going to have to play along, till I can get to the bottom of things.

"Looks like I am all yours for the day old man. And if you're up for it, we can have a sleepover tonight. You know junk food, movies and lots of gossip".

Abe actually looks excited at the prospect and takes my arm into his.

"Why Kiz, I thought you would never ask", he chuckles as he leads me towards his car.

Abe's house looks more like a lodge and is on the outskirts of town near the mountains. It has beautiful views of the surrounding mountains (it's high enough in the mountains that you can see the whole town in the distance) and is heavily gated – not surprising considering the kind of life he leads.

It's two storey and is probably the most expensive home in Baia. But I'm surprised to see how understated it is. For someone who dresses so ostentatiously, Abe's home is actually very subdued. The majority of the furniture is pine with a few pieces of leather chairs and lounges. He doesn't give me a proper tour, instead leads me straight towards the backyard, almost bubbling with excitement.

"SURPRISE!"

My mouth drops open – how do these people keep surprising me?

Everyone is here – Sonya and Mikhail standing near the gardens, holding hands and smiling widely. In the veranda, scattered around on the various chairs and lounges are Eddie, Jill, Mia, Ryan, Sydney (holding Declan) and Adrian. Christian, Lissa and my mum are standing right in front of me, clearly the 'surprise' welcoming committee.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask dumbfounded.

Lissa giggles at my expression.

"We are here for your wedding silly and this time we are going to do it properly – a traditional Russian wedding".

My mouth falls open again.

I was devastated that we had to cancel our wedding and I was not sure when we would be able to re-schedule it. Every time I brought up the subject, Dimitri would push it aside, telling me not to worry and that I should focus on getting better. He assured me that when the time was right we would have our wedding and that was all he ever said on the matter. Now I understood why. He, my family and friends had been secretly planning this wedding, one that I can't help but feel is going to be more special and perfect than the first one we had planned.

I let out an excited girly squeal (something I rarely do) and run towards Lissa, while my other bridesmaids crowd around me to turn our little hug into a big group hug. We all squeal and scream in excitement. Naturally, Christian tries to ruin the moment.

"Ok, ok Rosie. Calm down! Any more high pitched and the dogs in the neighbourhood are going to start howling".

I stick my tongue out at him – not even he can ruin the happiness I'm feeling in this moment.

 **Day of the Wedding**

It hadn't snowed much since we had arrived in Baia (though it has been cold) but today it looks like we are going to have a white wedding. It had snowed during the night and the whole town looks magical.

Abe had explained to me last night what were the usual wedding rituals for a traditional Russian wedding and what I should expect to happen. The biggest challenge we were going to face was trying to condense two days' worth of activities into one day, so that Lissa and the others could head back to Court as soon as possible (don't know how they pulled that off, but Lissa was able to leave Court with a bare minimum number of royal guards and very little fuss).

It's going to be a very early start – we were going to do something called 'paying the ransom' followed by the traditional ceremony in the town's chapel which has two parts – betrothal and crowning. The whole town (more or less) is expected to attend this. I actually prefer this to having the Moroi Council in attendance considering a lot of the town's people had been at Dimitri's memorial (the last time I was in Russia) and it would be lovely to have them see us have our 'happily ever after' moment.

After the traditional ceremony we'd have the civil ceremony (attended only by immediate family and bridal party) and this was taking place in Omsk (as it's the next largest town near Baia and we didn't want to do it in Novosibirsk due to the bad memories we had of the place). After this the whole lot of us were going to tour the city and take wedding photos. Reception was to be held at Abe's property, where the whole town was going to turn up again for a night of singing, dancing and endless supply of food and drink. This time the wedding was being paid by Abe and he wouldn't take no for an answer.

The first thing I did when I wake up (on the day of my wedding!) is look for Abe – not difficult even in the big house – as he spends most of his time in his office.

"Thank you Baba, for everything".

I lean in to kiss him on the cheek, wrapping my arms around his neck and give him a deep hug.

"Kiz, you are my world. I would do anything for you and Janine. You are my family and my family means everything to me".

I try to hold back the tears and crack a joke instead, to lessen the emotions swirling around us.

"Don't forget about Dimitri Baba, he is family too".

He lets out an exaggerated sigh.

"I guess he is now, isn't he? You sure you don't want me to rough him up a little bit? To make sure he knows I am serious when I say I will skin him alive if he ever hurts you".

"Baba…"

"Ok, ok Kiz. I was just kidding. Yes, Dimitri is family too".

The whole house is buzzing with activity as people run around getting ready and taking care of things. My bridesmaids, along with Olena and mum, find me and practically lock me in my room so we can get ready. It's all a blur as someone does my hair and another does my make-up. And then the moment to put on my dress arrives. I can't help but feel nervous, worrying if it still fits me. I wanted a dress that was unique and showcased me, so I kind of went against tradition and was wearing a black wedding dress (hey black is my colour after all!).

It's an Alencon lace over black Charmeuse modified A-line bridal gown, strapless sweetheart neckline, with a satin ribbon that had floral detail at waist and a sweep train. I'm not wearing a veil, instead my hair is swept into a left-sided loose ponytail with a diamante clip (this is my something new – a gift from Lissa).

My something borrowed are my diamond drop earrings from Sonya. She'd worn them at her own wedding to Mikhail and we were using these as a way to fulfil another Russian wedding custom where a friend of the bride, who is already married, places the first earring on the bride-to-be. We both try to control the tears that are daring to fall from our eyes.

"I wish you all the happiness in the world, Rose. You and Dimitri have been through so much. You deserve your happily ever after".

She leans in, giving me a small kiss on both cheeks and pulling me into a hug.

I fall back on humour once again to try to keep my emotions in check.

"Hey, we have to be careful otherwise I am going to ruin your dress!"

My bridesmaids were wearing platinum silver dresses, floor length with a flower detail on the belt. They were simple and elegant (and hopefully something they could re-use).

My something blue is my garter and my something old is my nazar and chokti, the only other pieces of jewellery I am wearing apart from my engagement ring and earrings. It's not long before I'm ready but I can't look in the mirror. I worry my nerves will get the best of me, no matter how much everyone around me insists I take a peek.

We are ready for the first ritual – the paying of the ransom. I'm hidden from the main entrance, but I can see everything unfold. Adrian had gallantly volunteered to play the 'fake bride' – wearing a simple white dress and hiding his face behind a veil. I'm trying so hard to not laugh. I have to say he did make a very pretty bride. I catch a glimpse of Dimitri here and there while he negotiates with Abe for his bride. When they come to an agreement Abe leads Adrian over to Dimitri, and carefully hands him over with great affection. It only makes the whole experience even more hilarious as Dimitri reveals it to be Adrian behind the veil, who is eagerly reaching forward to kiss Dimitri. Everyone laughs, with squeals and shouts gaining momentum as the negotiations for the 'real bride' commence. I think in the end I'm handed over on the promise of 15 goats, 5 cows and 3 pigs along with 1001 roubles. It's all for fun (I doubt Abe wants the farm animals and he definitely doesn't need the money). The suspense of finally seeing each other is torturous for both of us.

Vika takes it one step further and insists Dimitri be blindfolded and not see me till we reach the chapel – after all I'm not wearing a veil and they want to prolong the mystery about my dress. I roll my eyes at their antics, but allow them their little fun. Dimitri's not too happy, but after seeing the scowl on his grandmother's face he concedes to the blindfold.

At least he is allowed to hold my hand and can ride to the chapel in the same car as me. We are under strict instructions to not say a word to one another – again Vika's idea (the girl really wants to torture us today for some strange reason!) and she rides along with us (along with a few of the other members of our bridal party) so she can keep an eye on us. I take the opportunity to take in Dimitri's appearance. Gorgeous, handsome, sexy – these words can't do him justice. He is magnificent in his black suit with a silver tie – it fit him perfectly, tailored to his exact specifications. He has left his hair out – just the way I like it.

How did I get so lucky? How could this angel be mine?

The chapel is beautiful covered in the fallen snow. People from the town are slowly arriving and make their way into the chapel – the plan is for us to make our entrance once everyone is seated. While we wait for the priest in front of the chapel, Dimitri's blindfold is finally removed. I feel myself blush, nervous and worried what he will think but his expression says it all. He is gobsmacked and in complete awe. His mouth is hanging open as his eyes sweep over me from head to toe. I can't help the small giggle that escapes from my lips.

"See something you like, Comrade?"

I can't help but say it – our own little inside joke.

A big grin lights up his face, making the sunshine pale in comparison.

"You have no idea Roza…"

He whispers my name huskily and I shiver with anticipation for our wedding night. But for now we have to focus on the ceremony.

Even though neither one of us were super religious, having a traditional Russian church wedding felt right. Our bridal party have already entered before us, taking their place at the altar. We stand just inside the entrance of the church while the priest blesses us and gives us lighted candles that we will hold throughout the ceremony. Special petitions occur for us, followed by two brief prayers and the rings were blessed and placed on our right hands. Turns out the rings belonged to Yeva and her Moroi husband (Dimitri's grandfather). My ring read 'forever and always' and Dimitri's read 'my heart and soul'. We were touched that she allowed us the great honour to have her rings and hoped our love would be just as eternal and long lasting as hers.

The priest says a prayer, blessing our betrothal and leads us into the center of the church where we stand on a piece of new, rose coloured fabric, symbolizing our entry into a new life. We then publicly profess that we are marrying of our own free will and that we have not promised ourselves to another.

Several longer prayers follow before the priest places crowns on our heads. Lissa, who is now my maid of honour, holds my crown while Eddie holds Dimitri's. More readings follow from the Epistle and Gospel, ektenias, brief prayers and then the sharing of a "common cup" of wine.

The priest wraps his stole around our joined hands and leads us three times around an analogion on which the Gospel Book had been placed. The priest says the benedictions to us and then the dismissal takes place.

After leaving the chapel we make our way into the mini-vans (well Dimitri and I have our limo, though Vika still insists on keeping us company) and head towards Omsk for the civil ceremony. We are greeted by our family members (who have arrived before us) with bread and salt. This ceremony is a bit more of what I was used to back home, with our rings exchanged and firmly in our left hands, along with our vows and declaration of becoming husband and wife. Before the 'You may kiss the bride' my parents offer us two crystal glasses, which we are asked to break. Apparently the more shards of glass we create, the greater the number of years of happiness we'd spend together. Suffice to say I stomp on the damn things with all my might, causing everyone to burst out laughing.

Finally we have our kiss – as husband and wife – and the joy and happiness I feel is indescribable. I have the biggest smile on my face, and all I can do is gaze at my husband adoringly. Once we are outside the offices, we release balloons into the air to symbolize our love and partnership for all to see. I also release another balloon with my maiden name written on it, and see my mum sniffling hard into Abe's shoulder at the gesture as I embark on my new life.

 **DPOV**

Roza looked beautiful, like a goddess shimmering in black.

It was an unconventional wedding dress, but it was perfect on her. It epitomised everything that was Rose – delicate and fragile, yet sexy and dark. I couldn't look at anything else, my eyes would not dare look away. I was worried she was a figment of my deepest fantasies and dreams, and that if I even glance away for a second she would disappear.

With the ceremonies all done we tour Omsk and take loads of wedding photos. It's not long before we head back to Abe's for the wedding reception. I so desperately want a few moments alone with her, so I can kiss her and tell her how much I love her. The best I can do is convey my emotions through my eyes and squeeze her hand, and brush kisses on her knuckles discreetly – our families and bridal party refuse to give us a moment of peace or solitude.

Sydney can be very perceptive sometimes, and once we reach Abe's house she finds a way to get us away from everyone, pushing us into a small room which looks like the laundry room. Giving us a wink she whispers "I will keep a watch outside, give you two a few moments to yourselves before the next bout of chaos breaks loose".

We couldn't have been more grateful to her. I let my emotions consume me and grab Rose by her waist, pushing her hard against the closed door.

"Do you have any idea how much I want to rip that dress off you and ravish you right here, right now?"

I kiss her deeply, biting her lower lip gently, eliciting a small moan. I try not to mess up her hair too much, but I allow my fingers to run deep into hair, massaging the top of her neck. Her own hands are already in my hair, pulling me hard and close to her. We try to remove any space between us, causing our hips to rub against each other. I can't help but growl, as I feel myself grow hard in anticipation. A part of me knows we can't do much beyond kissing even though every single fibre in me wants to take her and make her scream my name. We didn't realise our moans and groans had gotten louder, until Sydney gives a quick knock from the other side.

"You guys might want to cool-off now. You are getting quite loud and well, everyone is ready for us to enter the reception area".

Whatever ounce of self-control we have left we muster to pull away from one another, grinning like guilty teenagers. We help each other smooth out our clothes and appearance and with a final quick peck head back outside.

The bridal party are already lined up in front of us, waiting by the big double doors that lead out to Abe's veranda. The song we had originally chosen for Rose and the bridesmaids to walk down the aisle to would now be played to introduce the bridal party and the married couple. It's _'All of me'_ by John Legend (something that I wouldn't have selected, but when I had listened to the lyrics, I was proud of Rose for choosing it as one of our special songs).

The kids walk through first – Zoya and Katya scattering flowers as they make their way forward, leaving a trail of petals that end at the main table where we and the bridal party are to sit.

 _What would I do without your smart mouth?  
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out  
You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down  
What's going on in that beautiful mind  
I'm on your magical mystery ride  
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright  
_

Mia and Ryan (who I made as an honorary groomsmen for his help during Rose's rescue) walk through the doors first.

 _My head's under water  
But I'm breathing fine  
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

Vika and Neil follow next.

 _'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you, oh oh_

Sonya and Mikhail take their cue to walk at the end of the chorus.

 _How many times do I have to tell you  
Even when you're crying you're beautiful too  
The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood  
You're my downfall, you're my muse  
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues  
I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you_

Jill and Christian follow them.

 _My head's under water  
But I'm breathing fine  
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

Sydney and Adrian give each other a quick kiss before heading out.

 _'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you, oh oh_

Lissa and Eddie turn to look at us with big grins on their faces, before they too make their way out.

 _Give me all of you  
Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts  
Risking it all, though it's hard_

"Are you ready to face the world as Mrs. Belikova?" I whisper in Rose's ear, causing a shiver to run down her body.

She gives me a sly grin.

"It's Guardian Belikova, and as long as you are by my side Guardian Belikov, I can face anything".

With a quick kiss we make our out to a round of applause and cheering.

 _'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you_

 _I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you, oh oh_

Instead of joining the others at the table, we head towards the dance floor to have our first dance. Even though traditionally there are supposed to be two big toasts before the first dance, I want us to have our magical moment earlier in the night.

Pulling my wife (I will never get tired of saying that!) into my arms, I wait for our song to start. This was a song that I had been tasked to select (considering we didn't really have a song of our own). After endless brainstorming sessions with Christian and Eddie I felt we had picked the perfect song – even if some people might think it was cheesy – it's _'Because you loved me'_ by Celine Dion.

 _For all those times you stood by me  
For all the truth that you made me see  
For all the joy you brought to my life  
For all the wrong that you made right  
For every dream you made come true  
For all the love I found in you  
I'll be forever thankful baby  
You're the one who held me up  
Never let me fall  
You're the one who saw me through, through it all_

The world slowly fades away – all that exists is just me and my Roza.

 _You were my strength when I was weak  
You were my voice when I couldn't speak  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see  
You saw the best there was in me  
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach  
You gave me faith 'coz you believed  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me_

Her eyes gaze into my own, overflowing with endless emotion – happiness, lust, love. Each one seem to mirror my own and are magnified so that the whole world can see just how we feel about each other.

 _You gave me wings and made me fly  
You touched my hand I could touch the sky  
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me  
You said no star was out of reach  
You stood by me and I stood tall  
I had your love I had it all  
I'm grateful for each day you gave me  
Maybe I don't know that much  
But I know this much is true  
I was blessed because I was loved by you_

Her lips are next to take my attention. I watch her following the words along – slightly surprised she even knew the song. I can almost imagine it's her singing to me and not Celine Dion.

 _You were my strength when I was weak  
You were my voice when I couldn't speak  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see  
You saw the best there was in me  
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach  
You gave me faith 'coz you believed  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me_

I tighten my grip on her waist, pulling her closer. I want to be surrounded by her beauty, her fragrance, her essence. She reciprocates by pulling me closer, her arms tighten around my neck.

 _You were always there for me  
The tender wind that carried me  
A light in the dark shining your love into my life  
You've been my inspiration  
Through the lies you were the truth  
My world is a better place because of you_

Our foreheads touch together and for that brief moment we close our eyes, letting the tears finally break through and allow ourselves to savour each other by our other senses – listening to our ragged breathing, feeling each other's warm bodies, taking in the other's scent and finally tasting the sweetness that we experienced every time we kissed, as our lips find each other.

 _You were my strength when I was weak  
You were my voice when I couldn't speak  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see  
You saw the best there was in me  
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach  
You gave me faith 'coz you believed  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me_

The song is about to finish, and I take the opportunity to pull Rose even closer and deepen the kiss we are already sharing – this kiss is definitely not for public viewing, and it leaves us breathless. But then again we had forgotten about the world around us and at the moment the world consisted of just me and my Roza.

 _I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me_

The spell is broken when the song ends and we finally register the thunderous applause, wolf-whistles and shouts, reminding us that we are in fact at our reception, standing before a large number of people (and children). Blushing in slight embarrassment we both take a quick bow and make our way to the head table to sit down for the speeches and meal.

The first toasts are done – by Lissa and Eddie – along with the first round of shots. Everyone chants _Gorko, Gorko, Gorko_ ( **AN: Russian for 'bitter'** ) until I grab Rose and take her in for another deep kiss, causing another round of applause and wolf-whistles. Next it's our parents turn to speak – Abe, in his usual mix of charisma and danger delivers a speech that seems heartfelt but has secretly veiled death threats if I'm to ever step out of line. Mama speaks for our family and she tries so hard to do it without crying too much (which is very difficult for her), but in the end there isn't a single dry eye in the room, even Abe is discreetly wiping away a few tears.

Thankfully we have another round of shots, which I really need because I'm not much of a public speaker and need that extra liquid courage to boost my confidence.

"Rose and I would like to thank all of you for coming to our wedding – you can only imagine just how happy we are that we finally got married!"

Small chuckles and giggles erupt amongst the crowd at my lame attempt at a joke.

"But in all seriousness we really do want to thank each and every one of you for being here today and sharing with us this special day. We want to thank our parents, who have been our pillars of support, not only to help us reach this amazing day but for being there always – whether it was an active involvement or more behind the scenes, we want to let you know that you mean the world to us and we are proud to be called your son and daughter".

I watch Janine and Mama wipe tears from their eyes, as Abe gives me a toothy grin, with no hint of underlying hostility (finally!).

"We would like to thank our amazing bridal party – our nieces and nephews – Declan, Paul, Zoya and Katya. Our bridesmaids and groomsmen – Mia, Ryan, Vika, Neil, Sonya, Mikhail, Jill, Christian, Sydney and Adrian. You are our closest friends and have shared so many moments with us – the good and the bad. We see you more like extended family than friends and love you with all our hearts. And no, I haven't forgotten about our maid of honour and best man. Lissa you are Rose's best friend, but I know you see each other more like sisters. I am honoured to be part of your family and look at you as my fourth sister. Eddie, you are the younger brother I never had. Believe me, growing up in a household filled with women, I craved another male. I will be honest with you – the first person to take the role of my brother was my best friend, my charge Ivan Zeklos. To this day I miss him terribly but I know he is up there in heaven watching this wedding, no doubt with lots of witty remarks. But even though we haven't known each other as long as I had known Ivan, we have shared so much in the short time-frame that it feels like we have known each other a lifetime. Which is why I see you as a brother, just like Rose does. I know Rose too has lost a brother of hers like me. Here's hoping that Mason and Ivan aren't getting into any mischief while they lounge around in heaven".

I feel Rose's hand grabbing mine and give it a quick squeeze. It's perfect timing, because the next part of my speech is about her. Wiping away the lone tear that's trailing down her right cheek, I take a deep breath to continue. But this time, I don't look at the people around me. This time my eyes lock onto Rose – the next words are for her.

"And finally what can I say about my lovely, beautiful, ethereal wife. No words can describe the emotions I am currently feeling. I feel like the luckiest man in the world and so blessed that I have you in my life. You have no idea how much you mean to me, how much you have changed my life for the better. You may be younger than me, but sometimes your wisdom and uncanny way of understanding the world and people around you make me feel like I am the student and you are the mentor. You are my soulmate, my better half, my love, my heart, my everything. Life so far, with you in it, has been anything but boring and I can only imagine the adventures that are in store for us, as we now embark on our lives as husband and wife. I love you, my dearest Roza".

And with that I pull her up from her chair and give her another knee trembling kiss, holding her tightly so neither one of us can collapse. Everyone cheers and claps, signalling the end of speeches and the continuation of eating and drinking.

The cake cutting is a messy affair, with Rose grabbing a handful of the simple two tiered chocolate frosted chocolate cake (with white and milk chocolate rose centre pieces) and smashing it across my mouth. I figure it's only right I copy her and did the same, smearing the frosting and cake across her face and neck, before kissing and licking it off, causing people like Adrian and Christian (who are very drunk by now) to howl and make rude noises (much to the embarrassment of their partners).

It's time for the bouquet and garter throw. Rose goes first, pretending to do stretches and trying to loosen her muscles. You'd think she's getting ready to spar and not through a bouquet.

"1, 2, 3!" she screams, caught up in the excitement. Its hilarious watching Mia, Vika, Lissa and Jill run forward and fight for it. What is surprising is seeing Jill walk away with it, a smug look on her angelic face as she straightens her dress and gives Eddie a little wink, causing him to gulp. Everyone laughs at their antics.

I pull a chair up for Rose to sit on so I can take her garter off. Pulling her dress up slightly over her knees, she gives me a sly smile, as I lean in to grab the garter with my teeth and pull it off her (it helps that I had 5 shots already). I let my fingers trail down her legs before my lips follow them and I savour the sensation of her trembling against my touch. Finally freeing the garter, I stand up and get ready to do my own throw.

I didn't realise I had been overzealous with my throw, because I missed the group of men completely and the garter lands on Abe's head, who is turned away from us, busy talking to Janine. Our mouths fall open and everyone falls silent, waiting for Abe to realise what has happened. It's actually Janine, giggling lightly, who reaches up and pulls the garter off Abe's unsuspecting head. I watch in horror as Abe's eyes widen at the realisation of what has happened. I thought he would rush across and kill me. Instead he blushes furiously and looks away, while Janine leans in and whispers something to him, causing him to blush even more, before she looks at us and winks in our direction. That breaks the tension and everyone cheers and stomp their feet.

Rose is still frozen in horror at the exchange, until I pull her closer to me.

"You should close your mouth Roza, otherwise flies will get in".

That breaks her trance and she sticks her tongue out at me.

"Watch it Comarde, or you will regret it! Bad enough you had to tease me so mercilessly with your fingers and lips, I don't need you making fun of what is clearly a serious situation. Do you think Abe and Janine will hook up? Do you think my parents will finally… get married?"

I kiss her lightly on her temple, laughing at her horrified expression.

"Isn't it a good thing if they do? Don't you want them to be together?"

A small huff leaves her lips – she isn't convinced.

"Let them be, Roza. The deserve happiness too. You should only be concerning yourself on how you will be pleasing your husband tonight".

That definitely distracts her and a secret smile appears across her beautiful face. She leans in slowly, watching my expression as she got closer, until her lips are brushing against my ear.

"You know Comrade, I am currently going commando under this dress".

I look at her confused. Sometimes certain English phrases go over my head.

With an impatient roll of her eyes, she whispers, "I am not wearing any underwear".

My mouth falls open and whatever self-control I have escapes me. With a small growl I pick her up and throw her over my shoulders, completely forgetting we are still in the middle of our wedding reception. With a renewed purpose, I make my way into the house.

My goal to find a room.

My mission to ravage my sexy, gorgeous wife until she screams my name.

 **Yeah! Dimitri and Rose are finally married – longest chapter of the four part piece. Hope you liked it.**

 **Still have a few more one-shot chapters to add to this series before I am done.**

 **I am also working on another piece that is AU but with my favourite characters. So I might not be updating as regularly as I would like. Also back at work this week, so that will definitely affect amount of time I will have to write.**

 **Please be patient with me**


	7. Around the World in 30 days - Part I

**I know I disappeared for a while… life just got hectic… its hard working part-time and managing a little bub and have another one on the way… but as I am finally on maternity leave, I figured I will resume my writing.**

 **I now have two little girls to look after…so won't be as active in writing as I would like...but will see what I can manage…**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.**

 **Note: This 'one-shot' will have five parts, and then there is one more 'one-shot' and the Romitiri series will be done.  
Will contain some lemons so be warned! And all in DPOV  
_**

 _Rose and Dimitri's honeymoon becomes an adventure of a lifetime…  
_

**Around the World in 30 days**

 **PART I**

I must be dreaming.

How else could I explain this beautiful enchantress that was lying next to me?

Her soft, supple body (that naturally fits perfectly unto my own) was snuggled up to me. Her face was hidden under her beautiful, thick curls, but I could see a small satisfied smile gracing her gorgeous face – hardly surprising considering how late we stayed up last night – enjoying our first night as husband and wife.

Thinking about last night, I couldn't help but grin myself – not only because of all the intense 'intimate activities' we did but because we were finally married!

And soon we would head off on our honeymoon – a gift from the Queen (I mean Lissa) and Zmey (I mean Abe) – and this was going to be no ordinary honeymoon.

Turns out Rose had told Lissa about our special book from when we had been on the run trying to prove Rose's innocence and the various cities we had 'magically' picked at random to visit. Using some of those as inspiration, Lissa and Abe had created a honeymoon package for us that would take us around the world. We would stay in five star accommodations and use Abe's private jet. Everything was taken care of, including tours and sightseeing. Our other friends chipped in together to get us one of those travel credit cards (so that way wouldn't have to spend any our own money during this trip) but I had a feeling that Lissa and Abe contributed to this as well because when I saw the balance on the card I knew there was no way they could have spent that much money on us – even if it was our wedding present!

Our itinerary was a tight one – we only had thirty days to cover five cities! (I didn't want to think about the endless flying and jet-lag)

First stop was Saint Petersburg – I was excited about this because I could finally show my Roza one of the most beautiful cities in Russia. Next we were off to a special resort in Maldives, then Florence, Sao Paulo and finish off with Honolulu before heading back to Court.

I looked at the time and sighed with frustration, thinking about the challenge I was about to face – trying to wake up my beautiful, stubborn wife so we could make it in time to have breakfast and catch the flight to Saint Petersburg.

 **Saint Petersburg**

We had stayed the night at Abe's after the wedding reception – the festivities had gone late into the night and it wasn't safe travelling in the dark, plus Abe was hosting a big farewell breakfast for the Queen and the others the following day before they all headed back to Court. We figured it would be nice to attend this farewell so we could show them how much we loved and appreciated the effort they made to help/attend our wedding.

After breakfast (and some tearful farewells) Rose and I were finally on our way to Saint Petersburg. We took Abe's private jet (a bit excessive in my view, but my father-in-law insisted – God, I still can't believe I'm now forever related to the notorious Zmey!) and in less than five hours we had reached Saint Petersburg!

When we got to the Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace, we discovered we had been upgraded to the Lobanov Presidential Suite (we think Abe had something to do with this). After checking in we decided to take it easy and just explored the surrounding neighbourhood – after all it was our first day in the city and we were still recovering from the wedding shenanigans. Tomorrow we would wake up bright and early to explore the city.

I woke up before my alarm went off so decided to be Roza's alarm.

"Dobroye utro, krasivaya" I whispered huskily into Rose's ear, brushing her hair aside from her face and neck, as I left a small trail of kisses from her temple to her collarbone. She shivered against me and a small moan escaped her lips.

 _Damn it! How could something so small like a shiver and a moan get me so hard already – I truly was under her spell._

She clearly sensed the hardness against her thigh and decided to drive me insane by rubbing against it. A growl escaped my lips and I bit the soft spot in her neck – a spot I knew would drive her just as insane as she was driving me.

"Dimitri…" she moaned and grabbed my face, crushing her lips against mine.

I hadn't planned on us on having sex this morning, in fact I would have preferred if we had reserved our energy for sightseeing, but oh did this woman drive me wild! I don't think I was ever this horny when I was a teenager, and yet, here I am, a 28 year old who just could not get enough of his girlfriend (wait, I mean wife!) and if I had my way, I would happily spend countless days wrapped up in her arms, giving her as much pleasure as my stamina would allow me.

After two rounds of intense sex (once in bed and again in the shower), we finally grabbed breakfast and headed out into the cold, snow-covered city. We started off by visiting the State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace (as it was close to our hotel). Then we visited the Church of the Saviour, Grand Palace, Catherine Palace, St. Isaac's State Museum Memorial, Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas and Palace Square. By the end of the day (after all that walking) we were tired and collapsed in our room, barely having enough energy to order room service.

The next day we carried on with our sightseeing – Peterhof State Museum, State Russian Museum, Kazan Cathedral, Faberge Museum and Neva Embankments. We tried to not go too overboard with our exploring today as Lissa had organised tickets to Swan Lake at the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre. I was worried as I wasn't sure if Rose would have the patience to sit through something so complex and sophisticated like ballet (the girl likes wrestling and extreme sports for God's sake!), but she seemed to fall in love with the show within the first five minutes.

I think I watched her more than the show (I didn't mind – I had seen it plenty of times before with my sisters), because it was fascinating watching her expressions as she took it all in. Her gasps, her smiles, even her tears – I was experiencing Swan Lake in a whole new way through her eyes. Her ethereal beauty shown in the dimmed lights of the theatre and the cocktail dress she was wearing only enhanced her features. I had noticed many of the males that night sneaking glances her way, and I couldn't help myself by possessively pulling her closer to me by her waist – they had to know she was mine, all mine!

That night we curled up in bed and fell into a deep slumber – we were only into day two of our thirty day honeymoon and were already exhausted!

Seeing how two days of sightseeing took so much out of us, we decided to spend our third day in Saint Petersburg just relaxing in our suite. We didn't leave our bed once – ordering room service and just spending the day relaxing, talking and making love. Some may have considered it a waste of a day – spending it all in our room – but it was a much needed break and we loved every minute of it.

On the fourth day we kept it easy, exploring the market and local food vendors – I wanted Roza to try the various street foods and local dishes the city had to offer. When the sun finally set, instead of going back to our room, we walked along the Neva River. Even though it was cold, our jackets and warm embrace kept us from freezing, allowing us to take in the city lit up in the night.

"This is perfect", Roza whispered, as she snuggled even closer to me, letting me get lost in her warm embrace.

"I know milaya…ever since I fell in love with you, I always dreamed of showing you around Saint Petersburg…I'm sorry that the first time you came to Russia was not under the most romantic or happiest of circumstance". I felt my chest tighten as my thoughts went into that dark corner of my mind that reminded me of my days as Strigoi.

Sensing my falling mood, Roza stopped us walking and cupped my face, gently yet firmly.

"Hey Comrade, that was the past. And I forbid you, as your sexy, hot wife, to bring up those bad memories. As far as I'm concerned this is my first time in Russia – with you by my side. So we are definitely doing this the right way, the way it was always meant to be done. So don't go into that dark corner and instead kiss me until my knees become weak and I can't breathe".

I couldn't help but grin at my beautiful wife. She really was my saving grace. I do as she commanded, kissing her senseless until I felt her collapse into my arms and our breathing was ragged. I reluctantly pulled away to hail a taxi back to the hotel, barely keeping my hands to myself.

I just finished locking the door to our room, when Roza jumped me, pushing me hard against the door. I griped her hips and pulled her close to me, grinding my hardness against her thigh as soft moans left her lips.

I don't think I could wait until the bedroom.

We tore the clothes off each other, and I grabbed her by her soft, luscious ass and slammed her against the door, thrusting into her at the same time. I growled while she gasped in pleasure. We started off slow, but I didn't have the patience to make love – I wanted to ravish her, remind her she was mine and only mine.

Moving us to the bed, my thrusts became harder and deeper and her soft moans and gasps became outright yelps and screams – a mixture of incoherent noise and my name uttering from her swollen, red lips.

Seeing her underneath me, her beautiful hair spread out below and her face flushed in bliss, it toke all of my self-control not to lose myself and come – I refused to until she was close and could join me in the epic journey.

The delay in gratification I know would mean our orgasms will be amazing, and I'm not disappointed, as Roza finally lets go and joins in our grand release, screaming my name so loud I'm certain everyone on our floor heard us – not that it matters since we were due to leave tomorrow for our next destination.

Breathless and sweaty, I collapsed next to her, pulling her soft, warm body against me.

"God…. Comrade… that… was… amazing!" Roza struggled to convey her sentiments.

I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped my lips.

"Yes, it was my love… give me a few minutes and we can begin round two…"

A sweet giggle escaped Roza's lips, as she rolled on top of me, straddling my hips, effectively making me hard once again.

"Allow me to continue, Comrade…" she whispered seductively, before her lips claimed what was rightfully hers.

 **Dobroye utro, krasivaya – Good morning, beautiful**

 **Note: I have always struggled getting my 'tenses' right (confusing my present and past whilst telling a story)… so if you do see inconsistencies, I apologise (but please do let me know). My goal is to write in past tense but I sometimes fall back to present.**

 **I feel bad going back to my beta (considering I haven't been able to beta her work for over a year) so if someone else wants to offer taking up that mantle, let me know. Otherwise I hope my efforts in editing my work are sufficient.**


	8. Around the World in 30 days - Part II

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.  
_**

 _Rose and Dimitri's honeymoon becomes an adventure of a lifetime…  
_

**Around the World in 30 days**

 **PART II**

 **Maldives**

Suffice to say neither one of us got much sleep on our last night in Russia - not that we complained. It was going to take us close to 14 hours to get to our next stop – a beautiful resort in Maldives – so we knew we would get plenty of rest on the plane.

We were staying at the Gili Lankanfushi resort, specifically in their Crusoe Residence – a beautiful bungalow that sat over the crystal clear water. It was like being in the middle of paradise, with a lot of privacy!

It was a good thing we slept on the plane, as we were both eager and excited to explore the resort and plan out what we wanted to do for the next 4 days. I had been a bit apprehensive about staying at a resort in the middle of nowhere – I normally like doing things during a vacation (I'm not the lounge all day around the pool kinda guy). But luckily for us there was a lot we could do – snorkelling, diving, surfing, kayaking, day trip to the capital (Male) and they had an amazing day spa which I knew Roza would drag me to.

The day of our arrival (after we had explored the resort and signed up for activities), we made it back to our 'residence' and after a quick mini nap and food, went about 'christening' every corner of the place including the big, spacious bath!

The next day, after an early breakfast, we checked out the gym at the resort (as neither of us wanted to fall behind on our training) before we started on the activities for the day – diving and kayaking. Roza was very surprised I had a diving licence (one of the many things I had picked up while I had been Ivan's guardian), so I didn't need to go through beginner's lesson. However, I still remained with her in the beginner's dive (even if I could have joined the advanced) because I didn't want to explore the ocean without her.

It was amazing exploring the clear water that was abundant with sea life. So many colours and various fishes, it felt like we were in another world, where vampires didn't exist and we had nothing to worry about or be responsible for. Strangely enough the fish and other critters of the ocean weren't afraid of us, and we could get real close to them. Having purchased a disposable underwater camera, Roza went crazy, taking multiple pictures of everything while we explored the depths of the Indian Ocean.

After lunch, we kayaked around the resort and at one point drifted out far enough that we couldn't see land. We took the time to arrange ourselves in the middle of the boat and snuggled, watching the clear blue sky, whilst being gently rocked by the steady waves. Roza in her bikini and denim shorts, tangled her legs around mine (which were in broad shorts), while her left hand lazily caressed my bare chest (her request that I be shirtless, unless it was necessary, whilst on the resort).

"Can we just stay here forever?" she whispered after releasing a sigh of contentment.

I released my own relaxed sigh and tilted her chin up, planting a small kiss before replying.

"I really wish we could milaya, but we have responsibilities. And anyway, I think after a week we would both get bored from the inactivity and would miss the thrill and danger that comes from being a guardian. But don't worry, I think we should come back here again in the future – maybe we can have a vacation here with Lissa and Christian. I'm sure they could do with some much needed rest".

She smiled at the thought and for once (completely against her normal behaviour) remained silent while we enjoyed the peace and tranquillity that surrounded us.

Later that afternoon (before dinner) we got a couple massage at the spa – something I was hesitant on, but agreed to eventually on the condition that I would have a male masseuse and Roza a female. I hate to admit it, but it was relaxing and something I could see myself doing again in the future – not often… maybe on special occasions (though I'd prefer if my masseuse was Roza!)

The next day we spent half the day surfing – well learning to surf. Roza was surprisingly better at this than me (probably because she was smaller and weighed less than me!). After lunch we headed to the capital on a charter boat with some of the other people staying at the resort. It was a small city, but busy and crowded with friendly people. We bought a few trinkets and souvenirs before heading back to the resort.

One our last full day at the resort we decided to take it easy. We lounged around on the top deck of our residence, cuddling and talking. Instead of going to the main resort for food we called room service. Whilst I read, Roza spent her time either swimming or working on her tan. She had been wearing one of her sexier bikinis since the morning, but when it came time to tan, she had taken her top off (wanting to avoid tan lines) – but I think she did it to tempt and distract me (my sexy vixen!)

I knew Roza was tired – our various touristy and nightly amorous activities had caught up with her today, so wasn't surprised that she had fallen into a deep sleep while lying on her stomach getting her tan. Ensuring she was 'lotioned' up (to avoid sunburn) I called up the resort to organise a special sunset dinner on one of the decks on our residence.

It was all organised and the staff arrived an hour before sunset putting it all together. As they were setting it up on the other side of the residence, I was able to wake Roza up and take her into our room for a quick shower and change.

To her great annoyance, I blindfolded her before carrying her out bridal style towards the set dinner table.

Her gasp said it all – even I was blown away

The little deck was covered in fairy lights and the small table was perfectly set for two with fine china and silverware. A trolley nearby held our three course meal and a bucket stood next to it, filled with ice and a bottle of champagne. A single lily in a skinny vase stood in the centre of the table, surrounded by small tea lights, while the deck itself was covered in white rose petals. It really was beautiful and romantic.

I lead my beautiful wife (who was still speechless from the surprise) to the table and helped her into her chair. Laying the entrees before us, we dug into the meal. I probably should have paid attention to what we were eating, but all I could do was stare across at my beautiful wife, while we held hands. The only thing that distracted us was the sunset, as it lit the sky in hues of orange, red and pink – it was perfect.

We didn't talk much, content in consuming our scrumptious dinner and holding hands. Once done, I grabbed Roza's hand silently and lead her to the centre of the deck. Taking out a small remote I turned the little stereo on. Chuckling at her surprised expression, I pulled her close to me and it wasn't long before we got lost in the music. I don't know how long we swayed under the fairy lights, kissing and whispering our love for one another, but it wasn't long before it was completely dark.

The night sky was clear and the black was blanketed with millions of stars – it was breathtaking!

"Mrs. Belikova, would you care to join me for a little midnight swim?" I asked my adoring wife. Blushing ever so slightly, Roza nodded her head in agreement, and with one final deep kiss she let go of my hand to get changed.

I grabbed a towel after having changed into my swimming shorts and made my way back to our special deck. Roza was already there, with a towel wrapped around her supple body, sitting at the edge of the deck, waiting for me while staring out into the darkness beyond.

"Took your sweet time Comrade…ready to join me in the water?"

She got up and before I could reply pulled the towel off revealing nothing – she was stark naked. She looked over her shoulder seductively and whispered tauntingly.

"Don't take too long Mr. Belikov"… before diving into the water!

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE MY WIFE!

 **Hope you are liking the honeymoon so far**


	9. Around the World in 30 days - Part III

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.  
_**

 _Rose and Dimitri's honeymoon becomes an adventure of a lifetime…  
_

**Around the World in 30 days**

 **PART III**

 **Florence**

' _Ivan, my brother. I miss you…'_

I know I should be in a happier mood, after all here I was, sitting in a private jet, my arms around the most beautiful woman in the world and half way through our amazing honeymoon. But today was a dark day.

Today was Ivan's death anniversary.

And to make things worse, we were on our way to Italy, which was the last country he and I had visited together before he passed away. I guess I should be happy that we were on our way to Florence, instead of Rome – the city I stayed in with him – otherwise I would be worse off.

I pulled Roza closer to me, clinging to her for comfort. Her warmth and scent helped me ground my emotions from spiralling out of control. Breathing in her essence, I tried to divert my thoughts to something more cheerful, and was rewarded with the memory of our last night in Maldives.

 _FLASHBACK_

 _My little vixen had given me a challenge!_

 _Before I could even comprehend her words, she had dived (stark naked) into the warm, dark waters, only to surface later looking more beautiful than Aphrodite._

 _Beckoning me with her index finger, I realised that though my body had moved along the deck closer to where she had dived off, my mind was still frozen and my mouth gaping at her actions. Since we'd became a couple (and were able to have sex on a regular basis), I discovered that Rose was the more adventurous one in our amorous escapades – even though I was the one with prior sexual experience. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised she wanted to go skinny dipping._

 _My mind and body finally connected and it didn't take me long to join her. Swimming closer, I engulfed her in my strong arms, glad the waters were shallow enough for me to stand. Pulling her close to me, I kissed her passionately, making sure every part of me was touching as much of her as possible. Roza's deep moan spurred me on and in one quick motion I was sheathed inside her._

 _We'd made love countless times in the shower, bath and even once in a pool, but doing it here in the vast Indian Ocean was a surreal experience. Our bodies felt like they were on fire while we moved against each other in a sensuous dance that all but felt like we were part of the water around us._

 _Gasping for air, I broke our intense kiss to give smaller, open mouth ones against her neck before I found 'my spot' – a pulse point where her neck met her collarbone. Not much could render my Roza speechless but this little spot did the trick every time (much to my immense delight)._

 _My slow, languid thrusts turned frantic and desperate when I felt her nails scraping and massaging my scalp, neck and back. This was my weakness – Roza's nails dragging against my skin. There was something about the action that turned me on to the point where I no longer wanted to just worship her body and make sweet love to her. No – the moment she did this, it turned me into a savage beast and I became obsessed with ravaging every inch of her till she was a blathering mess._

 _It didn't take long for us to reach our climax and after we rode out our orgasms, we just clung to one another, swaying in the ocean as we carried on with our dance, only this time we were completely connected as one._

 _END OF FLASHBACK_

My beautiful wife stirring in my arms bought me back to the present.

"Hello my love, did you sleep well?" I whispered into her soft curls, while I left small kisses along her temple.

Sighing in content, her big, brown eyes opened and stared into my own with so much love and warmth that I felt my heart almost burst with happiness. Pushing a strand of hair away from my face, she replied back with a mischievous smile.

"Well Comrade, I was having this wonderful dream. You, me, this plane and something around joining the mile high club…"

She gave me a little wink as she pulled herself out of my arms and sauntered towards the restroom.

It didn't take me long to follow her – after all what kind of a husband would I be if I didn't fulfil my wife's dreams!

After the long flight we made it to Florence just as the sun set, leaving us with not much time to do anything apart from checking in. We were staying at the Portrait Firenze in the Ponte Vecchio suite. I have to say staying in all these five star accommodations was seriously spoiling us, as I couldn't see us settling for anything less than luxury in the near future if we needed to stay somewhere, but then again we were luckier than most Guardians, what with being related to Abe and our close almost sibling like relationship with the Queen and King of our people.

Florence was different to Rome – it felt more peaceful and laid back. But the people, the language and the food still reminded me of Ivan and I couldn't help but fall into depression as we explored our surroundings. It didn't take long for Roza to pick up on my mood and after waiting patiently for me to come to her, she finally decided to take matters into her own hand. After our lunch (which I barely ate) she pulled me aside to a nearby bench in the main city square.

"What's the matter Dimitri? I haven't seen you this moody and depressed since you were brought back. Tell me what's wrong, my love".

Normally I preferred to keep my emotions to myself but looking at her pleading eyes and being reminded about my time after I was restored (the countless days I wasted keeping my fears close and letting them consume me to the point where I almost lost Roza for good), I pushed myself to open up and share my feelings.

"I just miss Ivan, milaya. The last country we visited…before he passed away…was Italy. We stayed a week in Rome, exploring the city. It was meant to be our little vacation before heading back to Court, but I guess that never happened…" I whispered, with a hint of bitterness.

Instead of showing me pity or sympathy, Roza just enveloped me in her arms, laying her head over my heart.

"Tell me again how you first met Ivan, my love".

And so I re-told her the story of how I first met my charge, my brother. Over the years, I had reluctantly shared bits and pieces of my time with Ivan and even though it was still painful to visit the memories, telling Roza was therapeutic in some way. With each story I found myself letting go of the pain and instead focusing on the good things – the love, the laughter and the fun. As I sat there, telling Roza about how Ivan had stood up to some bullies for me in 3rd grade (which is when our friendship officially began) I realised that by sharing that part of my life with her I was honouring Ivan's memory properly (like I should have). I had been so wrapped up in my guilt and depression that I had tainted my memories of Ivan and instead of celebrating his life and love for me, I had focused too much on his death.

I promised myself there and then that from this day forward I would talk more about Ivan and not shun away from things or topics that would remind me of him.

"You know, milaya, Ivan would have loved you. And he probably would have kicked my arse for not having professed my love to you sooner. Of course he would have also teased me merciless for having fallen for my student and someone who was 7 years younger than me, but in the end he would have done anything in his power to ensure we had our happy ending".

Roza's acknowledgement to my words was a beautiful smile and tightening of her arms.

We sat there on the bench for the rest of the day (well at least until dinner) while I shared more stories about Ivan with Roza. In a strange way, it was a good day.

The next day we woke up bright and early to do the 'tourist' thing – we visited all the churches, museums and galleries. I even had an awkward moment when Roza very blatantly (and loudly) indicated that the statue of David had nothing on her 'Russian God' of a husband – causing a lot of women nearby to openly stare at me, while I blushed furiously and Roza gripped me possessively.

Day three was spent doing a bike tour around the various parks and plazas. Florence was really beautiful, with its old architecture and cobbled pathways. It was a sunny day, so we had decided to indulge in some gelato. Roza wasn't too impressed as she preferred her ice creams 'creamier', but reluctantly acknowledged that the large variety of flavours was definitely a positive. She was also introduced to Nutella – a hazelnut chocolate spread – and the size of jars they sold here were huge! She insisted we buy one to take with us back home, and it took more than a good hour before I convinced her to leave it be and that (luckily) the story had a website and they did international delivery. I really didn't want to lug around a big tub of chocolate spread with us for the reminder of the honeymoon, though on second thought, I could imagine myself licking the stuff off certain parts of Roza…so I 'compromised' with her into buying a small travel version to take with us for the time being.

The last full day in Florence was going to be spent shopping. Italy was known for its real leather and when we found a store that sold all sorts of leather goods, including dusters, I was in heaven. I normally don't splurge on clothes (being a Dhampir and living on Guardian salary I knew how to stretch my money and was more than happy to buy things in bulk etc.) but the two things I allowed myself to splurge on were my duster and combat boots – I didn't 'cheap-out' on those. Which is why I was more than happy for Roza to spoil me in this store and she didn't disappoint, buying me a duster in every colour they had and matching ones in her size – after all we were the badass Belikovs! She even bought a sexy leather outfit that would be for my eyes later on – a short leather skirt with a leather crop top. It fit her body perfectly and enhanced her curves – yup definitely not for public viewing.

Our final activity for the day was a special surprise for Roza – a one-off Tango lesson. I've never been a big dancer, but having grown up with three sisters and a mother who loved her musicals, I was fairly skilled in ballroom dancing. So when I saw the opportunity for a one-off tango lesson offering, I couldn't resist and dragged Roza for the lesson.

Roza loved to dance but something like the tango was whole other level, so it was understandable that she was apprehensive. But I took care of everything – even picking out the outfit I wanted her to wear.

Dressed in a blood red, knee length halter dress and in four inch heels, with her hair in a side ponytail, she looked ravishing. The instructor gave out a few basic pointers and then let us out on the dance floor to showcase it all.

"Do you trust me Roza?" I whispered lovingly into my wife's ear.

"Always Comrade…" she replied back with a shy smile, trying to relax her nerves.

As the music filled the dance studio, I grabbed her in the classic stance and started moving us across the floor. Soon we both forgot that there were other people around us – it became a world in which there was only Rose and Dimitri. Just like sparring or making love, we moved in sync – I'd move forward, she'd follow me. My hands roamed her body sensuously, dipping her, caressing her – it was like I was re-learning every curve and finding new ways to claim and worship her at the same time.

As the crescendo of the music built up, much like our other activities, our movements sped up and became more desperate and frantic, finally ending with me throwing her in the air and catching her in a low dip, before pulling her into a searing kiss. Loud applauds and cheers bought us back to the real world and we suddenly realised that all the other couples had stopped dancing and had watched our performance instead. Blushing, we bowed and thanking our instructor, rushed out of the studio. Luckily our hotel was walking distance, though we still ran.

The sexual tension we had caused needed to be let out and we began a new dance the moment the doors to the lift closed.

 **Sorry not updating as often as I want – hard to find the time looking after a 2 year old and a 2 month old – my world revolves around feeding, cleaning and catching up on deprived sleep (even now I keep nodding off as I edit).**

 **And I'm also trying to distribute my time between this story and Restaurant Wars…so please be patient.**

 **Two more cities left before the Belikovs go back to Court…**


	10. Around the World in 30 days - Part IV

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.**

 **Happy New Year!**

 **The youngest is FINALLY sleeping through the night so I'm not as sleep deprived as I have been… and this hopefully means more updates.**

 **I do apologise for not doing something sooner… life got complicated with health problems, two little girls vying for attention and affection and any downtime spent catching up on sleep… and let's not forget the craziness that is Christmas – family, food and festivities!**

 **So without further ado here is the next part of the Around the World in 30 days… enjoy!  
_**

 _Rose and Dimitri's honeymoon becomes an adventure of a lifetime…  
_

 **Around the World in 30 days**

 **PART IV**

 **Sao Paulo**

I'm so tired…

You would think for a Guardian such as myself, being sleep deprived would be second nature – after all our job sometimes required as to go without sleep for days – but it appears there is only so much sleep deprivation I can take.

We were on our way to Sao Paulo when everything finally hit me. The constant flying (even with the spacious seats in the private plane), the 'touristy' activities, the changes in time zones (and climates) and the endless love making was taking its toll on my body and mind, and if it wasn't for our strong immune systems (thanks to our Moroi genes), I'm certain I would be very sick right now.

I could barely keep my eyes open as we were dropped off at Hotel Unique and had to rely on Roza to get us checked into our Rodeo Drive suite. My beautiful, understanding wife saw just how exhausted I was and insisted that we curl into our comfortable bed after a quick shower and sleep for as long as we both desired (even if it meant sleeping for a whole day – which is exactly what we ended up doing).

I had to admit, I really wanted and needed this, but couldn't help feeling guilty that I was somehow ruining our honeymoon by 'wasting' time through sleeping. And, I was ashamed that I didn't have the stamina to keep the 'honeymoon' momentum going (something Roza didn't appear to be struggling with).

Cracking a joke about my age (yet again) to explain the discrepancies in our stamina, Roza soothed my ego, reminding me that even though she and others perceived me as some kind of a 'God' in the end I was a Dhampir, who being half human, still required proper rest and sleep.

Still my ego was hurt and I was determined to make up for a day wasted in sleep.

Finally feeling rested and energised, the first thing we did were the usual tourist activities – visiting temples, parks, museums and markets.

Everything was so colourful and loud! Especially at night time. It's like the people of Brazil spent the day hard at work and at night just let loose and partied all night long. Roza loved it!

We even took the opportunity to catch a soccer game (our third day in Sao Paulo) – Brazil vs. Argentina – and it was amazing! Roza and I normally don't get a lot of opportunity to catch live sport games (due to the nature of our work and the hours we keep) but compared to the few times we had been able to catch the odd baseball or football game, this soccer match was a whole other experience. For starters the whole stadium was packed and before the match began you could feel the excitement in the city – it was like everyone was tuning in for the game. I couldn't remember if this match was part of a bigger competition or some friendly game, but it didn't matter – the whole city was consumed and everything else forgotten.

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric – you couldn't help but get swept into the anticipation of what was definitely going to be a nail-biting game. Our competitive nature came out (being surrounded by the craziness around us) and I wasn't surprised to discover that we supported different teams – I backing the Argentinians while Roza was ever faithful to the Brazilians! It was another reason that made me love my gorgeous wife! Not only was she into most kinds of sports and could keep up with what was happening, but she wasn't shy to hold her ground on supporting the team of her choice. She was her own woman and would not be swayed by the choices/decisions of others, even her Russian God!

The match went on for almost half a day but it didn't matter as we enjoyed ourselves immensely. There was plenty of food stands to satisfy our hunger, the crowd was energetic and the game non-stop action.

Roza (being Roza) had to make things 'interesting'.

"So Comrade, its half-time and its one all. Care to make a wager on who will win in the end?"

I couldn't help the sly smirk that crept unto my lips, excited at the possibilities, knowing that win or lose the wager, I would ultimately still come out happy.

"And what's the prize for the winner, milaya?"

She licked her lips seductively and leant in to whisper in my ear.

"Winner gets to have the loser be their slave for the day – and the loser has to do _whatever_ the winner wants them to do, and I mean _anything_ and _everything_ …"

I didn't think it was possible, but those words alone made my cock twitch in glorious anticipation. Images assaulted me – oh the possibilities!

Roza watched me carefully as I tried to regain my composure. Her eyes danced with mischief and I knew she had her own montage of possibilities run through her mind.

"You have yourself a wager Mrs. Belikova…" I whispered back, sealing the deal not with a handshake but a searing kiss – a promise of what was yet to come.

In the end, the Brazilian team won (it had been a close game and they had to go to over time and call in penalty shots). This meant Roza was the master and I was her slave and I couldn't help the grin that was on display (even if I had lost the bet) because I knew being Roza's slave was going to be fun!

The plan was to enjoy the remainder of the day after the match as per normal and that the master/slave dynamic would come into play at midnight and would last for the full 24 hours. Nothing was off-limits and the slave had to follow every command from the master – no exceptions. I trusted Roza with my life so I knew we didn't need to specify anything about being safe or keeping things within reason. In fact, a part of me looked forward to letting Roza command me around and make me lose control - I know when it happened we both enjoyed it immensely!

You would think that having spent a whole day and half in bed, catching up on sleep would remove some of the tiredness, but that wasn't the case. Whether it was the excitement from spending half the day at the soccer game or the endless walking we had done exploring the markets yet again for souvenirs and gifts, the moment we had returned to the hotel after dinner we had both collapsed into our bed and fell asleep (thankfully we had just enough energy to grab a quick shower together to wash the sweat and dirt of us).

I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not, but somewhere in the haze of comfortable bliss and endless darkness, I felt soft, small hands caress every inch of my hot, naked flesh. My body stirred under the touch of this torturer and when my consciousness finally connected my mind with my body, my eyes opened up to a welcoming sight – my beautiful wife peaking from under the sheet, with my hard, throbbing cock pulsating in her hands.

I raised an eyebrow in question, wondering what she was up to (well more like why as it didn't take a genius to realise what she was about to do), but all she did was give me a saucy smile, before she took me completely in her mouth. I nearly came undone there and then and she had barely started.

Deep throating me straight away, it seemed that Roza was impatient and her goal to make me come needed to be achieved straight away. With one hand stroking my base (because her mouth was unable to take me completely in), whilst her other played with my balls (squeezing and stroking), Roza was on a mission. Spurred on by my grunts and groans, whilst I tugged on her hair, Roza worked in a crazy frenzy and it didn't take long for me to explode, shooting my load down her throat whilst spewing out a string of Russian curses after having screamed her name very loudly.

Whilst she crawled out from under the sheet, busy licking her lips and cleaning herself off, I was struggling to catch my breath.

"Not that I'm complaining, milaya, but what bought on this impromptu wake-up call? Especially considering it's after midnight..." I asked as I pulled her to my side, nuzzling her slender neck.

She pulled away from me just enough to make eye contact, letting me fall deep into her beautiful, brown eyes that were currently holding a devilish glint.

"Well, my love, I figured it was a good way to wake you up and get you ready for your new role – as my personal slave for the next 24 hours".

Her eyes shined with a promise of things yet to come and I felt myself harden all over again…

 **So I'm going to be mean and leave it there to tease you all… :P**

 **I have a few thoughts on what Rose gets Dimitri to do as her 'slave' but thought I'd ask all of you who are following my stories if you had any thoughts/suggestions…**

 **One more city then off to home (Court)…hope you have enjoyed the 'honeymoon' so far.**

 **After the honeymoon piece, I have one more 'piece' to add to Romitri Forever and then the series will be complete! After that I will focus on Restaurant Wars.**


	11. Around the World in 30 days - Part V

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.**

 **Sad to see not many came back with suggestions – thanks to those who did … you know who you are :P… will see if I can incorporate into my story.**

 **So this is the final 'part' of the honeymoon piece but it will most likely be the longest 'part' of the piece and has an unconventional start (continuation from PART IV) and is** **very detailed** **compared to the rest of the story (cause I wanted to capture the full 24 hours of explicit fun!)**

 **Also be warned the lemons in this part will be very, very sour! :P I don't think I have been this descriptive so be kind…**

 **Like I said, I have one more 'piece' to add to Romitri Forever and then this series will be done and I can focus on Restaurant Wars!**

 **If I have time, I might re-edit this series and possibly my Fantasies piece – so if anyone has any suggestions on changes/additions, let me know :P**

 _Rose and Dimitri's honeymoon becomes an adventure of a lifetime…  
_

**Around the World in 30 days**

 **PART V**

 **Sao Paulo contd.**

I love my wife!

Okay that sounded a bit cliché and a lot of husbands normally make that statement, but I can't put how I'm feeling in any simpler terms.

Roza started off our last full day in Sao Paulo (a day in which I was to be her slave) with an amazing blow-job that had fulfilled its purpose of waking me up. She then took the opportunity to lay out our itinerary for the day.

"Now that I have your attention, Comrade, let me tell you how today will go. First of all, let me remind you that you are _**my slave**_ and _**must**_ do as I say. No questions, no whining and no refusals. Okay?"

She waited for me to acknowledge her proposal, which I did with a sly nod. I kept my mouth shut, sensing she had more to reveal.

"Good! Now until this day is over, which isn't for another 23 hours, you will refer to me as 'mistress'. I may allow you to call me by other names such as Roza, milaya, goddess but you have to wait for my permission. If you do this without my approval, you shall be punished… severely…"

I felt my cock harden even more at her implied threat, while her eyes glowed with a mischievous glint – I was looking forward to breaking that rule!

"Since its 1am, I shall be kind and allow us to go back to sleep. You must remain naked until I advise you otherwise and/or give you something specific to wear. I plan to keep you in the room for most of the day so breakfast and lunch will be via room service – I will let you know what it is I desire".

I couldn't help the smirk that appeared on my lips as I caught the double meaning in that statement.

"I don't want to regiment the day too much but just to give you an idea of the roles you will be undertaking today – masseuse, butler, washer and most importantly, my pleasurer. Your job is to serve me and make me happy. Failure to do so will result in more punishment. The only time we will leave the room is later tonight, when we will go out for dinner and possibly dancing, depending on my mood. You are to wake up at 6am and call in our breakfast order, which is to arrive at 7am and not a minute earlier! I would like a bacon and egg roll, with a whole tray of sweet pastries, a jug of orange juice and a hot chocolate. You may order whatever you wish for yourself. After you have placed the order you may wake me up, in whatever manner you see fit – though originality will please your mistress. After breakfast we will retire to the bathroom, where you shall run a bath for me and join me in this bath so you can give me a sensual, deep tissue massage – all over my body. That is all I will reveal for now… so moy malen'kiy rab, let us get some sleep".

Roza had been learning Russian since we moved in together and even though she wasn't as fluent or confident as I was with English, she did her best to incorporate certain words into conversation – especially if it had the ability to peek my arousal, like now.

I don't know how we managed it, but it didn't take us long to fall asleep and the next thing I knew my phone alarm was buzzing near my head. It was 6am and it was time for me to wake up and serve my mistress. It's strange but for someone who normally likes being in control and taking charge, I found myself liking the idea of being Roza's slave. I already worshipped and adored my wife, and it was my life's mission to make sure she was always happy, so I guess it didn't feel like I was doing anything fundamentally different.

Planting a soft kiss on her temple, I rose from the bed and made my way to the living room to place our order with room service. Remembering her command to remain naked I asked them to tell the staff to knock and leave the tray outside our room. Having taken care of breakfast I made my way back to our bed. I stood in the doorway for a moment, just taking in the scene.

My beautiful wife was laying on her back, her hair blanketing her pillow. A small smile graced her lips even in her sleep, one hand resting near her face, whilst the other lay over her stomach. The sheet covered most of her body, but it was angled in such a way that her left breast was teasing me, beckoning me like a moth to a flame. Clenching my jaw to hold in the groan, my eyes swept the rest of her body and I couldn't help but linger at her toned legs that were exposed, having escaped from under the sheet as she stirred in her sleep. A soft moan escaped her lips and I wondered what she was dreaming about that could elicit such a reaction. And just like that, I knew exactly how I was going to wake up my Roza.

Making my way to the edge of the bed where her feet were, I quietly and stealthily climbed up and crawled under the sheets, positioning myself between her legs. I laid still for a moment, waiting to see if my movement had woken up Roza, but all she did was straighten herself and let out a little sigh. Peaking from under the covers to check she was still asleep (which she was) I went back to my task. Kissing her upper thighs softly, I trailed my lips and tongue down towards her inner lips. Leaning on my elbows, I moved to open up her legs and was pleasantly surprised to note her already heightened arousal (guess she was dreaming something naughty after all). I gently pried her slit open and gave a teasing lick. She practically lurched off the bed, mewling out a loud moan. Grinning triumphantly I resumed my ministrations, only this time adding sucking and nipping alongside the licking of the clit. To speed things along, I brought in some help, in the forms on my fingers, which I plunged into her wet opening in quick succession until I had three curled fingers that were pounding into her, turning Roza into a blubbering mess.

With each movement of my fingers and tongue, Roza became more vocal, gasping and pleading, while her body thrashed around me. Using my free hand to hold her down by draping over her hip, I increased my activities, feeling her inner muscles tighten and convulse around my fingers. I heard her orgasm (in the form of my name being screamed) before I felt it – removing my fingers, I quickly lapped up the juices, savouring the taste that was distinctly my Roza's.

This wasn't the first time I had gone down on Roza, but I still found great joy at the thought that she was the only woman with whom I had done the deed with. I had never felt comfortable with my previous sexual partners to do this with, but with Roza it was different and now I couldn't get enough of it!

Leaning against her soft thigh to catch my breath I felt the sheets move and suddenly I was no longer in the dark confines of soft cotton. I looked up to see a breathless Roza eyeing me with wonton desire and lust. Throwing a quick glance at the side clock I saw we had just under half an hour before our breakfast arrived – plenty of time for a quickie!

Before she could say anything I made my way up her body and without any warning plunged my hard, throbbing cock into her wet pussy. The sudden intrusion caused her to arch her back sexily off the bed, giving me the perfect opportunity to place one of my hands on her lower back, whilst the other pulled her shoulder up, causing us both to sit up. Holding her close to me, I started pounding into her straight away, knowing we didn't have time to do our usual slow dance that lead to the final frenzy. Her breasts bounced deliciously against my chest and I wished I could take one in my mouth, instead I compromised by moving my hand, that had been holding her right shoulder, to trail down and cup her right breast. My hand developed a mind of its own, going all out on that one breast. Tugging, squeezing, caressing, I gave her right breast enough attention that her nipple was hard as diamond.

Roza's moans increased exponentially while my grunts and groans turned to curses in both English and Russian. I was so wrapped up in the moment, determined to bring us to the promised ecstasy, that I had forgotten our arrangement, specifically the rule about calling Roza mistress. I hadn't realised that in midst of our feverish fucking Roza had moved her lips away from mine and had decided to latch onto my neck, sucking, nibbling and licking me to oblivion. The action caused me to swear hard and loud, growling out "ROZA!"

Suddenly, Roza stopped my movements and pushed back off me (though she remained in my lap and still connected). Looking at her confused, whilst waiting for my eyes to un-blur and my breath to catch up, I gasped in shock when I felt a sharp sting across my left cheek. It took a while for my mind to deduce that the sensation had been caused by Roza, slapping me! I stared at her, still confused and conflicted, watching a smirk form on her swollen lips.

"I told you, Comrade, you are to refer to me only as mistress, unless I give you permission to otherwise. And I don't remember giving you permission to call me Roza just then".

My cheek was still sore, but I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips – who knew I would enjoy being slapped whilst in the middle of having sex!

It was Roza's turn to look surprised when I leant in and whispered huskily in her ear.

"Do it again… Roza"

Biting her lips nervously she pulled back and slapped me again, this time on the other cheek. It didn't have the same hardness as the first slap, but it still did the trick. I found myself so close to the edge of my orgasm that it was painful to remain still. Suddenly I stood up and walked us towards the nearest wall, keeping Roza firmly in place with my large hands gripping her sweet ass, holding her against my hips.

Pushing her hard against the wall, I resumed my pounding while my lips devoured every inch of her body I could access easily in this position. It seemed my roughness had rendered Roza speechless and voiceless, the only sounds escaping her luscious lips were tight gasps for air. My ravenous fucking was leaving us both breathless, and I too had lost my ability to voice my overwhelming emotions. We had never fucked this way, it was definitely a first for us and God I was loving it!

With a final sharp inhale, struggling to get the necessary oxygen our bodies needed, we both crashed against the shores of untold pleasure, experiencing the biggest orgasm either one of us have ever achieved. I lost all feeling in my legs and had to lean against the wall, sliding down to the floor to rest. Roza crumbled into me, panting for breath, while I felt her heart beating erratically against her heaving chest.

"Wow…" was all she was able to utter, still trying to gather some form of composure. I didn't even have the energy to vocalise how jubilant I felt, so I took to stroking my wife's hair, body and face with as much love and reverence I could convey from my touch.

Once I found my legs, I picked up my mistress and lead her to the bed, just in time to hear the knock signalling the room service had arrived. Peeking out the door quickly to make sure the coast was clear, I opened the door far enough to roll the trolley in – after all I was still very much naked. As I bought the food to the bed, I was welcomed to the sight of Roza lounging against the headboard, just as naked as me if not for the sheet draped around her body. I wasn't sure if the hungry look she gave me was for me, the food or both. Not wanting to know the truth (it was hard competing against her love of food sometimes), I quietly bought the trays to bed and we spent the next half hour consuming our scrumptious breakfast.

Our energy replenished it was time to have our romantic bath. Quickly placing the empty trolley outside our room and checking the 'do not disturb' sign was still on the doorknob, I went straight to the bathroom to start the bath. I sensed Roza following me, watching me with authoritative intensity while I prepared everything. I was trying my hardest to ignore her, which was very difficult, since I'm always aware of her presence.

"Is this to your liking mistress? The tub is ready, and the candles I was able to find I have lit. Would you like anything else?"

I kept my eyes trained to the floor, not only to further emphasise my servitude role, but to prevent myself from losing what little control I had left. I was already hard again and yearning to grab hold of Roza and ravish her on top of the bathroom bench top.

I sensed her sauntering towards me until she was right in front, her index finger lifting my chin so I could make eye contact.

"You have served me well so far, moy malen'kiy rab… well… apart from the little slip up before. But I think you have learned your lesson and you won't be making that mistake again, will you?"

I couldn't help the sly smirk that fell across my lips.

"Of course not, my mistress. I have _ **definitely**_ learnt my lesson…"

My words said one thing, but eyes another and I knew Roza understood exactly what lesson I had learnt from my earlier transgression.

Slipping into the bath, I waited for my wife to join me. As ordered, I went about giving her a sensual, deep tissue massage, from head to toe. I decide that unless otherwise commanded, I would take this opportunity to drive her wild, avoiding all the sensitive areas to keep with the 'massage' ruse. Roza squirmed under my touch, and even though she didn't voice it, I could sense her desire and shaky control. She too played along with the 'this is just a massage' session, but it didn't take a genius to know we were both very aroused (my suspicions further confirmed by her constant grinding against my very hard cock).

When I was satisfied with the massage I had given her and having washed her hair and soaped her body, I finally asked the million dollar question.

"Is there anything else my mistress _**needs**_? Any other areas of her body she needs me to take care of? I live to serve my mistress and only her…"

By the end of my statement my voice was nothing but a whisper – God did I want to plunge into her really bad!

The little minx increased her grinding and rubbing, letting her actions tell me exactly what she needed from me. Before I could do anything more, she whipped around fast, facing me whilst straddling my legs and taking my cock in one quick thrust, deep into her eager pussy.

We both let out a loud groan, savouring the relief we finally felt at becoming one. Doesn't matter how many times we have sex, every time we did, I felt that much closer to Roza and I can sense she felt the same way too. It's like with every time we made love, a part of our souls connected, forging a stronger bond between us. I may be a Dhampir and my duty dedicated to Christian, but my life would forever be Roza and I knew without a doubt she would 'always come first'.

Our time in the bath was slower, more like love making than fucking – after all I had just loosened all of Roza's muscles and gotten her relaxed. We had the rest of the day and didn't need to rush our amorous activities, so we took things slower, savouring the feeling of our hot, steamy bodies brushing against each other – every touch, every kiss, every lick ignited a nerve or caused goose bumps to sprout on our skin. This time the orgasm built up slowly and seemed to consume our bodies before exploding in great intensity.

Struggling yet again to catch our breath, we held on to one another, trying to capture this moment in time, suddenly feeling vulnerable. I could see in Roza's eyes her mind was taking her through everything we (as a couple) had endured before we got to this point. I on the other hand was re-living my days as a Strigoi and how close I had been to lose Roza forever. Nothing else in my life was worse than those couple of months as the undead – not even the years I had to endure my abusive father.

Seeing the anguish in my eyes, Roza cupped my face lovingly, pushing her own fears and anxiety behind to console me.

"I love you Comrade… Dimitri – moy lyubyashchiy muzh. And don't you dare forget it!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at the fierce look she gave me while professing her love. I didn't blame her need to enforce her claim so vehemently, after all I had been a stubborn fool after I had returned to my Dhampir state and had almost lost my soulmate, engulfed in my own self-pity and guilt.

Capturing her lips in a long, deep kiss I returned my own words of love.

"Ya lyublyu tebya, milaya. Now and forever. You are my life, my everything…Come my mistress, let me dry you off and take you to bed for a much needed nap before we wake up for lunch…"

I think Roza was too emotional and exhausted to realise I had slipped up again and called her 'milaya' without her permission. We silently climbed out of the bath, drying each other off before making our way to bed, snuggling up against one another and falling instantly into a much needed sleep.

It was Roza who woke me up, but not like last time. This time it was feathery kisses and soft caresses that made me come into consciousness. Having finally awakened me, she gave me a quick peck before sitting up on the bed, bringing the sheets close to her body to hide her nakedness.

"Now that you are awake moy malen'kiy rab, I would like you to order us some lunch before we continue with our activities. I would like a cheeseburger with fries and a large jug of coke. Don't forget to order yourself some lunch too – may I suggest something with carbs as you will need the energy to keep you going".

Before I could utter a single response to her command, she was already out of bed, heading towards the bathroom. Seeing my questioning look she gave me a devious smirk.

"I'm going to take a quick shower – feeling very sweaty and dirty. And no, you can't join me. You may take your own shower once I'm done – in fact I insist you do. But first, please take care of room service – I'm starving!"

Chuckling at her exclamation of hunger (no surprises there), I took care of room service whilst trying my hardest to ignore the fact that my gorgeous wife was only metres away, naked and under a cascade of water.

Once I had organised room service (with the same instructions to leave the tray outside), I grabbed a towel and waited, though I was tempted to 'break her command' knowing another round of punishment would be fun. Damn! Just the thought of being punished by Roza brought my cock to attention.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't hear the water turning off and was startled when Roza swayed out of the bathroom, a fluffy towel wrapped around her. My eyebrow raised in question, wondering why she had covered herself, after all I was still very naked.

Smiling at me slyly she answered my non-verbal question.

"So I don't tempt you and delay your shower…"

Pouting at her 'logic' I prowled over to her, a devious smile on my lips. She didn't want company in the shower, but that didn't mean I didn't. She naturally read my mind and shook her head.

"Nah ah mister… not going to happen. You take that sexy ass into the bathroom and have your shower – alone…"

Sighing in disappointment, I walked past her, making sure to brush against her, so she could feel my very 'large problem'. The little vixen just shook her head and walked away, though I did catch a smirk on her face.

Resigning to my fate I made my way to the shower and got everything ready. As I washed myself, I noticed that my erection was becoming a problem – it was very painful and I knew that I would need to 'relive' the pressure otherwise the next time we fooled around I wouldn't last for more than a couple of minutes. Closing my eyes, I imagined Roza's hand wrapped around me cock (instead of my own). Starting off slow, I pumped up and down, twisting a little at the head with added pressure. It didn't take much for me to visualise a naked Roza, rubbing against me as she stroked my cock. A soft gasp made me stop mid pump and my eyes flew open to witness my beautiful wife gaping at me, desire darkening her eyes.

Licking her lips, her eyes moved from watching my cock to me face, and the look of shock changed to mock anger.

"I don't remember giving you permission to pleasure yourself slave! But since you have started you may continue while I watch, but you must ask my permission to come and not before… if you do, you will be punished…"

I nodded eagerly, my cock throbbing so hard in my hand I was worried I would explode. Roza was still wrapped in her towel, but that didn't last long. Settling herself on the benchtop, she dropped the towel and opened up her legs, letting me see her glistening, dripping pussy. Tilting her head, her eyes beckoned me to continue.

I resumed my pumping, only to falter briefly at my surprise of seeing Roza masturbate as well. I watched hungrily and with a sense of desperation as one hand tweaked and squeezed her right breast while her other hand fondled and teased her slit and clit. Clearing her throat to break the spell and remind me I was to get back to my own activity we both resumed our pleasuring. It didn't take long for me to reach my brink, but I remembered her command and with a breathless gasp I begged her.

"Please mistress, may I come. I fear I will explode if I don't come now…"

Roza suddenly stopped her own movements, and jumped off the benchtop. Slinking closer to me, her movements predatory, she contemplated my request.

She was close, but still not within arm reach. Hands on hips, she tried to make herself look commanding.

"I have a better idea Comrade. Stop what you are doing and turn around. And place both hands on the wall.…"

I looked at her with desperation _– I was so fucking close, surely she wouldn't be cruel to leave me hanging…_

Smiling with a devilish glint, she nodded her head as if to reiterate her command. Sighing in frustration I turned around and followed her instructions. I could feel her move close to me, her breath caressing my bare back, causing goose bumps to sprout. I felt her lips close to my ears, making me catch my breath in nervous anticipation.

"Did you think I forgot your slip up earlier, when you called me milaya? And you really thought I would let you escape your punishment - I don't think so Comrade…"

Not waiting for a response from me, a loud thwack reverberated through the bathroom, as Roza smacked my left ass cheek hard. I pulled in a breath harshly, the painful sting dispersed to a strange pleasurable sensation. She repeated her actions four more times on the left before moving to the right and doing the same number of 'ass smacks'. Just like the slapping, with each arse smack I felt myself squirm with pleasure and lose control. It took me a while to realise I was the one responsible for the animalistic growls that were echoing in the bathroom. My body was drowning in a sea of emotions and sensations – I was hypersensitive and every touch and action had my nerves on fire.

Stroking my ass with both hands in a soothing manner, Roza stepped into the shower, pulling her soft body hard against my straining back.

"Let me help you with your large problem, Comrade..."

She whispered huskily and before I could register what she had said, her delicate hands made their way around my hips and wrapped firmly around my pulsating manhood. Looking down, my eyes followed her actions and I can't be certain, but I could have sworn that my cock looked bigger than it normally does – it was straining for release. Her breath fanned across my back while her lips placed frantic kisses from my shoulder to my lower back.

"ROZA!"

I roared – it couldn't be helped, as I felt every semblance of control and propriety leave my body. I was reduced to a primal state and in this haze I grabbed my wife roughly, bringing her before me and pushing her hard against the shower wall, her stomach facing the tiles. I didn't wait for permission and I definitely wasn't the usual gentle lover – no, Roza had reduced me to a caveman and all I could focus on at that moment was claiming her and possessing every fucking inch of her.

She was mine and no one else's!

I was going to fuck her so hard she would lose all feelings in her legs… I was going to mark every fucking inch of her so everyone would know she belonged to me… I was going to make her come so hard and long that she wouldn't even think about looking at another male let alone consider another mate…

I entered her roughly, pressing myself hard against her body so there wasn't any space and her chest was squashed against the tiles. I knew her nipples brushing against the rough edges of the tiles was egging on her pleasure while I pounded into her from behind. Grabbing both hands I held them tightly above her head, pushing her even further into the wall. My lips sucked and nipped along her neck, shoulders and back – heck I even bit her in certain points, eliciting squeals and little screams from her glorious mouth.

Weirdly, certain parts of my brain could see similarities between my current animalistic mode and the way I had thought and acted when I was Strigoi. Such a thought would have stopped me dead in the past, with the memories and emotions rendering me frozen. But not anymore. With Roza's love and support, I had been able to put all of that behind me, and even though I could see the similarities in thought and action, I knew with certainty that something was very different between now and then – this time, underneath my actions, lay an unquantifiable amount of love. I was rough and possessive but in the end Roza was my life and soul and I would never do anything that would hurt her or diminish her.

She screamed my name louder than before while an orgasm decimated her body and mind – panting and gasping, she pulled a hand out of my grasp to grab my hair, roughly pulling me closer to capture my lips in a hard, searing kiss.

I didn't think it was possible, but she had another hard orgasm on the back of her first, causing her body to shudder and fall apart against me.

"FUCK!"

She screeched – I am pretty certain everyone on our floor heard my wife (and I couldn't be prouder).

We both collapsed on the floor, the water had turned cold ages ago (not that we had noticed), cooling our boiling skin. Gasping for breath, we held each other, Roza's back curled against my chest.

"Fuck... that was amazing…mil…I mean mistress…"

I corrected myself at the last minute, though I did vaguely remember screaming her name and not mistress when I came after her hand job. Reading my mind, Roza shook with laughter.

"I think I am done punishing you Comrade – my body can't take any more… at this rate, I won't be able to walk for a week…"

Grinning with pride and an inflated male ego, I helped Roza up from her spot and we had a quick shower to clean ourselves up. Perfect timing, as room service had finally arrived – time for much needed sustenance!

We took another nap after lunch, feeling more exhausted from the activities from today than we had from the entire honeymoon! New records were being set in our sex life and I couldn't be happier – heck, if people asked me what was the best part/day/moment of our honeymoon I would say it was today. Who knew being Roza's slave was going to take our sex life to a whole other level!

My alarm woke us around 5.30 but this time we both reigned in our desires – we wanted to go out for dinner (it was our last night in Sao Paulo) and I knew Roza really wanted us to go clubbing (she has been eager to take me to one ever since we got together, but never got the chance while we lived at Court).

"Comrade, as much as I love watching you walk around naked, I don't want to jump you as we have plans to keep. So here is something you can wear till it's time to get ready…"

She produced the black apron from one of our bags we had designated as the 'gifts' bag. I recognised it as the apron she had bought at the markets here in Sao Paulo for Christian. On the front in red flames it said 'Coisa Quente!' and when the vendor had said it was Portuguese for 'hot stuff' Roza proclaimed it to be the perfect gift for my charge. After wrapping the apron around myself, I turned in time to see Roza take a picture with her phone. Rolling my eyes at her antics, I knew she would take great pleasure in showing the photo to Christian once he had used his gift – my wife can be very evil sometimes!

As we didn't have any sex after our shower escapade, we didn't need another, so with an hour to kill before needing to get ready, Roza ordered a full body massage, proclaiming her body was sore because she had been ravaged by a 'Russian beast'. Smirking at the description I went about giving her a sensual massage from her scalp to her toes, trying to ignore the twitching in my cock. We distracted our minds with light chatter, talking about what we had enjoyed so far on our honeymoon and what we thought was happening at Court. We had both agreed that we would not check emails or make any calls – but we were of course available if something urgent happened. I know I still had my lingering guilt from Ivan's death (and would be devastated if it repeated with Christian) and Roza had been super nervous leaving Lissa behind, especially since the bond no longer existed. Yes, we both were very reluctant and hesitant to disappear from Court for 30 days, but Lissa and Christian actually 'ordered' us to go on our honeymoon, as they knew we wouldn't disobey a direct order and it would be the only way we would be willing to leave them for such a long time.

At 6.30, we started getting ready and damn it, Roza decided to bring out that 'black dress'. It still fit her perfectly, hugging her curves even more dangerously than before. I wanted to forget about dinner and dancing and ravish her right there and then, but Roza shook her head, stopping me from acting out my desires by keeping a healthy distance between us.

"Reign it in, Cowboy. You can rip the dress off later… now we go to dinner".

Growling in frustration, I listened to my mistress, clasping her hands and pulling her in for a breathtaking kiss, before leading us out to find somewhere to eat.

The dinner was a fun experience, with waiters coming around with different types of meat and they had this grilled pineapple that was coated with brown sugar that was amazing. Half way through dinner, Brazilian dancers and drummers made their way through the restaurant, entertaining the guests. Our hunger sated, we made our way to the club called .

The bouncer was a Dhampir so lucky for us we were able to avoid the line. With a respectful nod at one another, I pulled Roza close to me as we made our way deeper into the loud club. The walls vibrated, the base over-powering the vocals. Sweaty bodies swarmed around us and the air was thick of artificial smoke and alcohol. Roza made a beeline for the bar, clearly wanting a drink before dragging me to the dance floor. Ballroom dancing was one thing, this… well I was definitely out of my comfort zone. Ivan had dragged me to clubs, so the scene wasn't new, but I had always been there as a Guardian and didn't have to worry about dancing. Tonight I was not on duty but out with my alluring wife and with the hungry looks thrown her way, there was no way I was letting go of her or allowing her to dance with anyone else but me.

Maybe a drink or too would help loosen me up.

Seeing that they had Russian Vodka, Roza ordered four shots of the stuff. Taking a shot each, we clinked glasses, shouting "Prochnost!" before downing the drink in one go and chasing it up with the secondary shot. Roza has come a long way when it came to Russian Vodka – she could almost keep up with me.

But tonight, the goal wasn't to lose ourselves drinking, but to sway to the music around us. Another four shots and I was relaxed enough to lead my wife to the dance floor. I didn't even know what song was playing, my focus was solely on my sexy wife as I pulled her close to me, her back against my front, my hands gripped her hips tightly while the little vixen rubbed and grinded against me. At this rate I couldn't see us sticking around longer than one song, I was already ridiculously hard.

"Mistress if you keep this up, we won't be here long…"

I whispered huskily against Roza's ear, enjoying her shudder against me. I'm certain she heard me, but it looked like she choose to ignore my warning. She moved her arms behind, so they could wrap around my neck, effectively pulling my lips against her neck, while she pushed her tight, firm arse even more against my hard cock. She was taunting me, waiting to see what I would do.

With the last resolve of my patience, I waited out the song that was currently playing. Swaying in time to the music and caressing every inch of my wife's amazing body, once the song ended I pulled Roza to face me, crashing me lips hard with hers. Picking her up, I led her out the side exit. I was not the type to have sex in a public place, but I couldn't see myself waiting the cab ride back to the hotel. Making our way to a dark alley, I pushed Roza against the brick wall, all the while devouring every inch of her body.

She groaned in pleasure and rubbed her core against me, tightening her legs around my waist.

"Fuck me now Comrade – I don't think I can wait any longer…"

Damn it! That snapped the last of my control, causing me to reach under her dress and rip off her panty while her delicate fingers struggled with my zipper. This was going to be quick, dirty and rough!

My cock finally free, I didn't wait long to push myself deep and hard into her wet, tight pussy. Moaning in slight relief, I set the pace to be hard and fast from the onset – not wanting to run the chance of us getting caught or worse be defenceless should any Strigoi be nearby.

Roza grabbed my hair harshly, pulling roughly while pushing my head further into her neck where I was busy nibbling and biting her senseless.

"Talk dirty to me Comrade…" she commanded breathless, on the verge of her climax.

That caused me to falter in surprise and I blushed in embarrassment, not sure how to exactly fulfil this order.

"I don't know how Roza... I mean mistress…"

Roza pulled back momentarily, causing us both to stop our actions. Her deep brown eyes held no judgement, only love and understanding. Caressing my cheeks to sooth my blush, she leant in to whisper in my ear.

"Its easy Comrade… all you have to do is tell me what you want to do to me… describe your actions… let me know what thoughts…desires… are running through your mind right now…"

I couldn't help but look at her incredulously – this was way out of my comfort zone. I preferred action over words anyway and it didn't help that being the private person I was, it was hard to vocalise my inner thoughts. But Roza asked me for this, and I was going to try (hopefully it wouldn't be awkward).

Roza helped again, telling me to close my eyes, and to lean down next to her ear. She even gave me a mini demonstration, knowing that I would require her guidance on the matter.

"Relax Comrade… know that I love you no matter what and you will always be my sexy, Russian God. You can call me whatever you want…say whatever you want. I promise I won't laugh… here let me start you off. I love your big throbbing cock Dimitri. I love it when it pounds into me… I love it when it fills my mouth and I love holding it in my hands, as I pump it slow and hard, making you come all over my hand…"

She finished her little speech with a deep lick and nibble of my earlobe and FUCK! I nearly came right there and then. Breathing heavily through my mouth to control my raging hormones, I used my body to further push Roza against the wall. She groaned in delight, probably experiencing a mix of pain (from the hard bricks digging into her back) and pleasure (my cock resuming its pounding).

"Fuck Roza… you are so beautiful milaya… I can't believe I got so lucky to have you as my wife… you have no idea what you do to me… how much I have to be in control around you, when all I want to do is throw you against the nearest wall and fuck you till you scream my name…or lay you down on a large table, open up your legs and devour your wet pussy. I can't seem to get enough of you…I love your breasts – so beautiful they fit perfectly in my large hands while I squeeze them and play with your nipples. They taste even better in my mouth… so soft and supple…"

Roza's breathing was erratic and all over the place – I guess I wasn't doing a bad job. Encouraged by her reaction I continued, knowing it wouldn't be long before we hit our orgasm.

"Have I told you how much I love your sweet, tight ass (I moved my hands to squeeze them for emphasis)… I love it even more when I get to see it in front of me as I take you from behind…you have all the right curves milaya…and the best part is that you are all mine…every single, fucking part of you. IS. MINE!"

I roared the last part, forgetting momentarily that we were in an alleyway close enough to the club to be heard by those still waiting to get it. The orgasm that rocked through me had made me primal and all logic and rational thought escaped me. It didn't take Roza long to experience her own orgasm, causing her to scream my name loudly. Normally that would have embarrassed me, but strangely it turned me on even more (knowing all those damn fools who had been eye-fucking her all night would know who lay claim to her body). I kept pounding into her, riding out our orgasms, trying to keep the momentum going for as long as possible.

Finally slowing down, I gently released her legs, holding her tightly to me when I felt her collapse against me – no doubt a mixture of exhaustion and losing sensation in her legs from holding me so tightly.

Straightening up and cleaning what we could, we quickly made our way back to the main road to grab a taxi back to the hotel. The quickie we had only tempered the flames of desire temporarily and I wanted nothing more than to return back to our hotel suite so I could continue to worship my mistress – like I said no matter how much we fucked or made love, it would never be enough to satiate my hunger!

 **On the way to Honolulu**

All good things must come to an end.

And I guess we should be happy we got to experience most of our honeymoon un-interrupted. But being the head Guardians of the Queen and King of our people, it was no surprise we were called back before we could make our way to the final destination on our amazing honeymoon – Honolulu.

We had just boarded the jet when the call had come through from Hans, who after a quick apology laid out the fact that our scouts had picked up at least three Strigoi covens dangerously close to Court. He needed us back straight away, with both Councils worried a repeat of St Vladimir massacre happening on a much larger scale at Court.

Discussions were being carried out, with ideas thrown around on how best to deal with the threat – from full scale evacuation to organising raid parties to hit the covens offensively before they could mobilise. Nonetheless, being the head Guardians of the Royal family we were needed to help carry out the final plans, so unfortunately the honeymoon had to be cut short.

As our jet changed course to head back to Court, I pulled my gorgeous wife into my lap.

"I'm sorry milaya that we couldn't finish our honeymoon – hopefully we will get to visit Hawaii another time".

Roza turned her head to give me a deep, sensual kiss. A breathtaking smile adorned her beautiful face.

"It doesn't matter Dimitri – we still got to see so much of the world and in the end, as long as I'm by your side Comrade, nothing else matters".

 **Google translate:**

 **Moy malen'kiy rab = my little slave (Russian)**

 **Moy lyubyashchiy muzh = my loving husband (Russian)**

 **Coisa quente = hot stuff (Portuguese)**

 **Prochnost = strength (Russian) – I may have used this term due to a certain show I have been binge watching with hubby (any guesses what show I am referring to? Hint = lead character is yummy :P)**

 **So I decided to 'cut' the honeymoon short for two reasons (don't hate me!):**

 **I didn't realise how long and descriptive 'slave day' became until I finished writing and by the end I was drained**

 **I also felt that it seemed more realistic the honeymoon being cut short because of their Guardian duty and figured it would be a good time to 'end the honeymoon' since they both had such an amazing last day in Sao Paulo!**

 **Thank you to all who have followed/liked this series and my other stories – I'm hoping the practice will hone my writing skills so I can start on my original piece (something that has been in development for a very long time)….**


	12. Our family

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.**

 **Sadly, this is the final piece in my Romitri Forever series. Hope you like it.**

 **I started off this series with plans to do one-shot pieces, and even though this is still true, I guess I couldn't help but do them in a somewhat chronological order (you can even imagine my Fantasies series being set sometime between the honeymoon and this final piece** **).**

 **Well without further ado – enjoy!  
_**

 _They never thought it was possible but Rose and Dimitri finally get their 'happily ever after'  
_

**Our family**

 **RPOV**

PAIN!

SO MUCH EXCRUCIATING PAIN!

I never thought it was possible to experience this kind of pain.

I know pain… pain is my constant companion.

I've experienced all kinds of physical pain and suffice to say the pain that I just went through was by far the worst kind of pain I have experienced to date.

But…

The end result was totally worth it.

As I held my beautiful daughter, Christina Lyssa Belikova, the nightmare that I went through in the last 38 hours was instantly forgotten. The pain, the drama and the foul language a distant memory, like remnants of a bad dream which disappear the moment you become fully awake.

I flicked a quick glance towards my adoring, tired husband, who had been by myside the entire time and was now lost in some much needed sleep.

I really am blessed – to have had Dimitri's love and now finally our miracle. She was the perfect combination of us – my hair and ears, his nose and eyes. I could spend countless days just staring at this wonderful creature we created together.

But one thing I have learnt in life is that nothing worthwhile comes easily and recalling this little 'Zen life lesson' caused my chest to tighten when I suddenly realised that actually Christina technically wasn't our first born.

No, as always we had to endure more heartache before we could finally achieve our greatest desire – to have a family.

 _ **FLASHBACK**_

 _I was super excited – today was my 8 week scan!_

 _I still can't believe I am pregnant – it feels unreal._

 _In fact it shouldn't even be possible, what with me and Dimitri being Dhampir, but thanks to Spirit, this was yet another miracle we were able to achieve._

 _I can still recall the day I found out – when the test came out positive._

 _Poor Dimitri had freaked out because I had been locked in the bathroom for almost 2 hours and had failed to respond to his calls. Busting open the door, he found me by the sink, frozen in shock. Checking me over for any injuries he had grabbed me in his warm embrace, muttering comforting words to himself and me in English and Russian. That's when he noticed the stick, still held tightly in my grasp._

 _Grabbing it off me, he took one look and let out a loud shout in excitement._

" _Oh my God! We are going to be parents!"_

 _It was his jubilant exclamation that finally broke my trance and I couldn't help the tears of joy that fell as I grabbed him and kissed him hard. After almost a year of trying, we were finally pregnant!_

 _Thinking back to that day, I couldn't help but smile. We were ecstatic (naturally) and went straight to the clinic to get the blood test to confirm. Luckily it was our day off, so it wasn't hard to keep things under the radar – we were too keyed up and probably would blab to the next person we saw._

 _Dr. Olendski had moved to the clinic at Court and was aware of our unique situation. We had gone straight to her, and in less than 24 hours had confirmation that we were in fact going to have a baby!_

 _Naturally after that we had to tell everyone – organising a quick dinner at our place, we invited our family and friends (who were at Court) to join us, while organising Skype chats for the same night with those who weren't._

 _We just wanted to share this joyous news with everyone, at the same time!_

 _I had been anxious the entire night, and could barely eat (due to nerves and excitement). Lissa and mum noticed my lack of eating and kept looking between me and Dimitri, trying to figure out what was going on._

 _After dessert we finally made the announcement and suffice to say we got some big reactions. Screams and shouts could be heard as we were both tackled by loved ones giving us hugs and kisses. Everyone were over the moon and we couldn't wait to meet Baby Belikov!_

 _Bringing myself back to the present, I realised I had reached the clinic just in time for my appointment. I was going by myself unfortunately as Lissa and Dimitri (the only two people who I would consider taking with me) were busy. Both were upset for missing out, but it just happened that way. Comforting them that this was just a routine check-up and that the next major scan (12 weeks) would be the more crucial one, I told them it was ok to miss._

 _Lying down on the table, I got myself ready for the technician to start the scan – I assumed like last time (when we had our first scan at 6 weeks), she would start and then Dr. Olendski would join later to take over._

 _We exchanged small pleasantries as she got my ready and turned the machine on. I was trying not to be too impatient, after all I wanted to see my little baby!_

 _The polite smile that had been on the technicians face, slowly started to disappear, as she anxiously moved the stick around. Within minutes a frown appeared and my whole world slowed down._

" _What's wrong?" I whispered, suddenly feeling numb._

 _She looked at me nervously._

" _Hmm, let me just get the doctor…" and without any further explanation she bolted out of the room._

 _I was trying to keep calm, but I could feel my breathing pick up and felt myself on the cusp of a panic attack._

 _Dr. Olendski rushed into the room with the technician right behind her, who was whispering to her constantly while pointing at the screen. Dr. Olendski took the stick and carried out the same movements, pressing harder and staring at the screen in deep concentration._

 _Finally, with a sad sigh she turned around and said the words that shattered my world._

" _I'm sorry Rose, but it looks like you had a miscarriage…"_

 _The next few minutes were a blur, and I don't know how I did it, but I was outside the clinic. The whole world seemed to fade away and I struggled to breath. Somehow I managed to call the one person who I knew could help me make sense of all of this._

" _Comrade, I need you…"_

 _Its funny how only a few weeks ago we were excited and anxious to tell everyone our big news. Now all we wanted to do was avoid them, because each time we told someone we lost the baby it felt like the wound was being ripped open over and over again._

 _We were a mess for a whole week – to the point where both Christian and Lissa ordered us to take personal leave to properly grieve. A part of me wanted to push it all away, forget it happened and through myself into work, anything to stop the pain. But another part of me felt shattered and broken – I couldn't help but blame myself._

 _I lost the baby… it was no longer growing in me… my body had rejected our child!_

 _No amount of soothing or comforting words from Dimitri could help. He couldn't understand. He kept telling me that it was probably for the best, better to lose the baby in the early stages than later, but he just didn't get it._

 _I had this little being growing in me, someone who was depending on my 100% to protect them, feed them, keep them safe and I failed. All my past anxiety about whether or not I was cut out to be a mom in the first place came crashing back to me, and I was just about ready to give up._

 _A weird depression had fallen on me and even though externally it looked like I was ok, I wasn't. Without telling Dimitri I had put myself back on the pill – I didn't want to go through that again, trying for so long, to be given a glimmer of hope only to have it all taken away._

 _Nobody seemed to notice my depression, well except for Dimitri, but then again it wasn't surprising since we were soulmates. After trying everything he could possibly think of (to get me out of this depression) he tried the final Hail Mary card – he called his mama._

 _Olena was on the next flight to the US and 24 hours later I found myself bawling my eyes out to the only woman who to me epitomised true motherhood. She locked us in our guest bedroom, telling Dimitri to cancel my shifts and to leave us alone._

 _We spent the entire day talking, hugging and crying. I was shocked to find out both Olena and Karo had experienced miscarriages too. Olena's, unfortunately, was due to her abusive partner, Randall. Unknown to her, she had fallen pregnant one final time after Vika but a violent encounter one night at the hands of Randall had caused her to lose the baby._

 _Karo had a 'natural' miscarriage between Paul and Zoya, and she had been almost 12 weeks along._

 _Even though they tell you there is a high risk of something happening in the first 12 weeks (which is why you shouldn't go around telling everyone until you pass the danger zone), you normally don't hear about the miscarriages that have occurred in your inner circle until you go through it yourself. Guess it makes sense, no one wants to re-live such a painful experience and it isn't exactly something that comes into everyday conversation. But, nonetheless, having heard Olena's and Karo's stories made me feel better. Not completely, but I wasn't hating myself as much as I was before._

 _ **END OF FLASHBACK**_

It had taken me another month before I was ready to try again with Dimitri and I'm glad I did, because otherwise this beauty would not be in my arms.

Wiping away the millionth happy tear I had shed since her birth, I cuddled my daughter closer to my heart and thanked God (or whoever was listening) for blessing me with another miracle.

 **25 YEARS LATER**

I couldn't believe the last of my babies were graduating today!

I could see our twins, Adriana Sage Belikova and Mason Ibrahim Belikov, standing in line, next to their cousin Timothy Mason Castile. All three were excited to graduate and become Guardians, just like their parents.

Everyone had turned out for the ceremony (including their eldest siblings – Christina and Ivan). We have all been there for one another at every occasion – the good (weddings, births, our kid's graduations) and the bad (deaths, divorce).

As I sat there, letting the tears roll down my cheeks, I reminisced about my life and our vampire world.

Boy, has it been a crazy adventure!

Running away with my best friend (only to discover her element was Spirit and that I was Shadow-kissed)…

Being caught by the tall, dark, handsome Russian (who ended up being my soulmate, my husband and the father of my children)…

Killing countless Strigoi before I had even graduated (and many more after, especially as the Head of the Royal Guard and Elite Force)…

Restoring said soulmate to Dhampir state (and helping him overcome his guilt)…

Forcing best friend to become the next Queen (which helped shape a new order for our race through initiatives like Magical defence & combat for Moroi, making sure non-royals and Dhampir had better representation when it came to legislation, but most importantly, finding a vaccine that prevented Strigoism)

The vaccine helped us cull the numbers of Strigoi dramatically and even though it didn't eradicate the race completely, it did slow down their growth. The first phase – vaccinating every Dhampir and Moroi to prevent them from turning should they get bitten and given blood (of course this didn't stop the Strigoi killing the poor soul completely, but at least they couldn't be forced to become a monster). The second phase – getting the vaccines to the larger human population – which proved to be much more difficult (hence the reason why the growth wasn't completely stopped). Reason for this was that once the Strigoi realised they couldn't 'awaken' the Dhampirs or Morois, they had resorted to 'awakening' humans. It took the Alchemists another 3 years before they realised they needed to distribute the vaccines to the human population.

Naturally it was hard to convince humans to take the vaccines (without revealing our world to them), but thanks to the sneaky people at the Alchemist organisation, a global 'epidemic' just happened to occur around the same time as when the Strigoism vaccine was meant to be administered. Needless to say now nearly everyone was immunised to Strigoism.

Now it's the Strigoi who are hiding from us and even though we have more Dhampirs attending the academies and graduating to be Guardians, it's no longer a necessity. In fact, mandatory Guardianship only lasts for 5 years and that's not counting the first 3 years were newly graduated Guardians act as interns with an experienced Guardian. This program helped reduce death post-graduation by 80% and further encouraged more Dhampirs to stick around to be Guardians.

Mixing amongst the races (e.g. Moroi with a Dhampir, Dhampir with a Dhampir, a Moroi or Dhampir with a human) was no longer frowned upon (well not by most anyway) and the vaccine helped Dhampirs to have children with partners who weren't Moroi, so they no longer felt inclined/forced to procreate with them.

The world we now lived in wasn't perfect nor peaceful, but it was a hell of a lot better than what it was when I had become a Guardian!

I turned to look at my gorgeous husband and couldn't help but smile in complete happiness. We had made it (despite the numerous obstacles and odds) and here we were, surrounded by family and friends, watching the last of our children graduating from school and becoming full-fledged adults.

I couldn't help but lean in and kiss my soulmate and best friend, all the while wondering what other adventures life had instore for us.

 **And there it is… all done!**

 **I ended with only RPOV (felt like full circle considering 'return to academy' was RPOV)**

 **Just so you know the miscarriage bit in the story I wrote from personal experience (this was** **exactly** **what happened to me) so please be kind about it – if you didn't like it then keep that opinion to yourself. For me, I found it cathartic to share.**

 **On a brighter note, now that I have finished Romitri Forever, I can go back to RW.**


	13. AN - Announcement for Mother's Day piece

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I will be contributing a story to the compilation of one-shots by other well-known VA fandom writers.

I am humbled and honoured to have been asked to contribute.

So please check out the **'VA Mother's Day One-Shot Compilation'** by VA10thanniversaryproject.

My story is called **Mother's Day Extravaganza!**

Here is a little excerpt to give you a tiny taste…

Rose, Sydney, Janine and Olena were the first to notice the table set-up on the side. As the group of women moved closer to the table, they began to realise its purpose. It wasn't as large as the table they were to sit at, in fact it was a third of the size. Candles were scattered across it and on closer inspection they noted the number of candles had significance – 8 candles next to 8 photo frames. A card sat in the centre of the table, someone's beautiful calligraphy displaying the following words:

 ** _You may not be here in person but you are always in our hearts._**

 ** _Hope you are enjoying Mother's Day in heaven._**

 ** _We miss you._**


	14. AN - Announcement for Father's Day piece

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I will be contributing a story to the compilation of one-shots by other well-known VA fandom writers.

I'm humbled and honoured to have been asked to contribute.

So please check out the **'VA Father's Day One-Shot Compilation'** by VA10thanniversaryproject.

My story is called **A father's reflection**

Here is a little excerpt to give you a tiny taste…

Money and Power.

With these I've been able to grow my empire and become an influential person. But no amount of money or power can help me now, as I sit here and watch my little girl undertake her greatest fight that will determine whether she lives or dies!


	15. AN - Announcement for AU Special piece

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Tomorrow the **'VA AU Special Compilation'** will be posted and I will be contributing a story to the collection as well as some well-known VA fandom writers.

I'm humbled and honoured to have been asked to contribute.

So please check out the **'VA AU Special Compilation'** by VA10thanniversaryproject.

My story is called **How I met your mother...**

Here is a little excerpt to give you a tiny taste…

 _As the small crowd dispersed from the dance floor, his eyes zoned in on the most beautiful creature he had ever scene. She was wearing a long, dark blue gown that clasped on one shoulder and left the other exposed in a delectable manner. Her long brown hair was styled to drape across that exposed shoulder and she wore minimal jewellery. He couldn't see much of her face since the mask she wore covered most of her features, except her lips, which were two dark red beacons that beckoned him._


End file.
